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SHADOW-SHAPES 


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SHADOW-SHAPES 


BY 


MAUDE ANNESLEY 

\\ 

AUTHOR OF 

‘ the wink of life,” “wind along the waste,” etc. 


We are no other than a moving row 
Of Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go 
Round with the Sun-illumined Lantern held 
In Midnight by the Master of the Show. 

Rnbdiydt of Omar Khayyam. 


* V 

NEW YORK 

JOHN LANE COMPANY 


MCMXI 





■ ' k'6i X? 

iU w ISil 




t> . 3 








SHADOW-SHAPES 


CHAPTER I 

“ T ’M not a weak fool — what did they say? I 
1 want to know exactly what they said, Mac.” 

“ They told you themselves. There are distinct 
signs of valvular disease — you must be very careful.” 

“ Pooh ! ” The man got up and walked to the 
window and drummed impatiently on the rain- 
splashed pane. Then he turned and stared at his 
friend seated, with drooping head, by the table. 

“ Look here,” he exclaimed suddenly, “ are you 
going to be sensible, or are you not? You’ve 
known me for — nineteen years, isn’t it? Well, 
that’s time enough, surely, to understand me ! 
Have you ever known me to act like a hen in 
traffic ? Why should you begin to treat me like 
an infant just because your professional interest 
is roused for the first time? You are certainly a 
doctor, but you are — my friend too.” 

There was a most curious expression in the 
speaker’s eyes as he uttered the last words, and 
the other man noticed it, and spoke hurriedly, 
almost incoherently. 

“ Yes, yes — but you heard what they said— I— 
1 


2 SHADOW-SHAPES 

how can I tell you more? They kept nothing 
back.” 

“ You were shut up with them for three-quarters 
of an hour — what did they say ? ” 

“ We talked about other cases.” He still spoke in 
that queer hurried way. “ Doctors always do in 
consultation — it’s like lawyers. We compared your 
case with others. Sir Ellis always proses by the 
hour ; it interests me of course professionally, but 
he’s very technical and stilted. He only stopped 
then because Bruner had to leave, he ” 

He was interrupted by a laugh, half amused, 
half sardonic, and he flushed a little, and looked up 
at his companion, who was staring at him with an 
expression of faint scorn. 

“ You mentioned lawyers just now, Mac. Well, 
if the money hadn’t come just when it did I should 
have been sweating away at the Bar — done jolly 
well too, I fancy! Let us imagine that I am in 
wig and gown now! You don’t seem able to 
speak by yourself. I will help you. I will ask 
questions ; you must answer. Regard yourself as 
on oath, Mac. Regard me as an eminent K.C. 
cross-examining a — criminal.” 

Again that curious look flashed into his eyes, 
and MacFarlane stirred uneasily. 

The master of the house rose to his feet and 
placed his hands on the table and leant forward. 
His piercing eyes looked steadily at his companion — 
eyes ringed by the bluish-grey smear of delicate 
health. 

“Did Sir Ellis say that there was immediate 
danger ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


3 


“ No” 

“ There is danger ? ” 

“ There is always ” 

“ Don’t generalize, please. Is there danger in 
my case ? Answer yes or no.” 

“ Yes — but, Brock, old chap, don’t ” 

“ Thanks. You can bring in the sentiment 
afterwards. At present I want facts. The end 
may come suddenly ? ” 

MacFarlane squirmed in his chair, and did not 
answer till the question was repeated somewhat 
more sternly. 

“ Yes — if care is not taken.” 

“ What care? ” 

“You must not overwork or fatigue yourself, 
you must not worry” (the other man’s mouth 
twisted with a silent laugh), “ you must not hurry — 
but we told you all this before ! ” 

“Yes. There must be no sudden shocks, I 
suppose ? ” 

“ Quite so.” 

“ How is one to guard against shocks, I wonder ! 
Then I must be good and take my medicines like 
a model little boy, I suppose?” 

“They will certainly help. You must not 
forget to take them regularly.” 

“Ah! Well, Gra will see to that. She is an 
excellent nurse — isn’t she, Mac ? ” 

It was impossible this time to ignore the irony 
in his face and voice. 

“Why do you speak like that, Brock? You 
ought to know how good she is : she saved your 
life two years ago in Scotland.” 


4 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Ah yes, so they all said. I believe she did. 
What a pity ! ” 

“ A pity ? ” 

“ Yes ; if I’d gone off then it would have saved 
such a lot of — of — er — difficulty now. Well, now 
for technical details, please.” 

He sat down, and crossed his knees. 

Then began a series of questions which aston- 
ished the doctor. He realized suddenly that his 
friend must have been reading up the subject for 
some time. He talked of valvular lesions, 
auriculo-ventricular valves, tricuspid and mitral, 
and the chorda tendinece , as if he had been 
familiar with the terms all his life. 

MacFarlane was puzzled and confused. When- 
ever he hesitated over a reply, fearing to agitate 
the patient, he was met by a look so hard, by a 
few words of such biting sarcasm, that finally he 
answered almost angrily. 

At last his tormentor ended his questions, and 
was silent. He was looking across the room out 
of the window at the passing vehicles, and his face 
was like a mask. 

MacFarlane shook himself, got up, and walked 
about somewhat nervously, looking at, without 
seeing, various objects. He stared for some time 
at a plaster bust of Darwin, then he wheeled round 
and spoke. 

“All this is rot, you know, Brock! You 
are now as wise as I am about the case, and I 
hope you’ll be sensible and take care of your- 
self." 

There was a pause, and he suddenly felt horribly 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


5 


uncomfortable as his eyes met his friend’s sombre 
gaze. 

“Yes,” said Brocklehurst quietly, “I intend to 
take care of myself. Pm only forty-two, and I 
don’t wish to die yet.” 

“ Of course not. Who spoke of dying ? ” He 
spoke with a noisy cheerfulness. 

Brocklehurst’s answer seemed irrelevant. 

“ What are you earning now, Mac ? ” 

MacFarlane gasped. 

“ I — how do you mean ? ” he stammered. 

“ I mean how have you got on lately ? I know 
your practice has been growing of late years, but 
of course the profession is rather overcrowded. 
Do you mind my asking this ? ” 

“ Oh, not at all : you’ve always known my affairs 
more or less intimately. I am making about 
twelve hundred a year on an average — sometimes 
more, sometimes less, but it works out at about 
that.” 

He still looked surprised ; he could not follow the 
working of the other’s thoughts. 

“ You’re a very clever doctor, Mac ; I believe in 
you — that is, in your speciality. I don’t think 
you’re very good at things outside the heart ! ” 

MacFarlane laughed. 

“ No ; I shouldn’t make a good G.P.” 

“Quite so. Well, I’ve a proposal to make to 
you. The state I am in needs constant care and 
attendance, as you know. I should like to have you 
with me always, permanently. No, don’t inter- 
rupt, please. I could give you two rooms here 
for your own, and at Wane’s Ferry you can 


6 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


have the west tower for your domain. I will 
give you for one year from to-day fourteen hun- 
dred pounds, the following years an increase of 
two hundred each year. I pay all your expenses 
of course. You can choose a horse for your own 
at Wane’s ; here you can order any horse or vehicle 
you wish from the stables. Anything else you can 
think of please ask me — I will do all I can to make 
you comfortable. What do you say ? ” 

“ Impossible ! ” MacFarlane exclaimed ; “ utterly 
impossible ! ” 

“ Why ? ” 

“ It would never do — I Besides, you don’t 

need a constant attendant like that. You have 
only to be careful.” 

“ But if I prefer to have some one with me to be 
careful for me ? ” 

“ Well — any one would do. It’s ridiculous to get 
a specialist, and pay huge sums to him, just to 
see you don’t overwork or overtire yourself.” 

“ Ah ! I don’t agree with you. You see I 
think it would pay me (even at the price offered) 
to keep some one by me whose interest it was to 
keep me alive.” 

“ Interest?” 

“Yes, interest. It will pay you to keep me in 
this vale of tears.” 

“ So it would any one else ! I can find you some 
careful man for three or four hundred a year, say, 
who would think himself on a bed of roses ; he’d 
take care of you all right. No one would want to 
lose a good post like that ; while as for me, I’m 
already on my feet, and I — — ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


T 


The other man interrupted. 

“ I’m not speaking of money.” 

“ What then ? ” 

There was a silence in the room, but a horrible 
silence which seemed to hold a brooding, uncanny 
presence. The doctor shivered slightly, and in- 
voluntarily looked over his shoulder at the door. 
Then Brocklehurst spoke. His voice was low and 
even. A singularly refined and musical voice at 
any time, it now sounded more so than ever. 

“ I mean Gra.” 

“ Eh?” 

“ Of course you believe in nothing. You modern 
doctors pride yourselves on your materialism. But 
I believe in other things. I know . I intend to 
do all I can to buy my life at a big price — to you . 
When I go, Gra goes too.” 

MacFarlane sprang to his feet, white to the lips. 

“ What are you saying ? Are you mad ? ” 

“No, or I should employ a brain specialist. I 
say this in all seriousness. I wish you to be in 
constant attendance on me because it will be to 
your interest to keep me alive.” 

“ How — how ? Why, even supposing your pre- 
posterous suggestion were true, how — what should 
I ” 

Brocklehurst rose to his feet, and the men stood 
face to face, the library table between them. He 
held out his arm and pointed straight at the other 
man’s eyes, then he spoke harshly, loudly : 

“ Don’t lie, man. / Don’t be a hypocrite. I 
know” 

Then the doctor crumpled up like a wounded 


8 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


man. He sank on the chair he had risen from, 
his arms fell limply on the table, and his head bent 
down on his chest 

“ I have — I ” His broken voice trembled to 

silence. 

“You need not speak. I know just how far it 
has gone. Now, I repeat, your interest is to guard 
my life as your own.” 

Then the drooping man flung back his shoulders, 
and a wave of colour sprang to his face. 

He spoke quickly, firmly. 

“You are trying to frighten me! It is a wild 
extravagant lie. How could you possibly make 
me believe that you hold powers over life and 
death ? If you die, you die suddenly — there would 
be no chance to kill her.” 

He laughed wildly. Then he looked at the man 
standing opposite, and saw a look on his face that 
he had never seen on any face in his life — a look 
of fixed purpose, of almost God-like strength of 
resolve. 

“ I should not try to kill ” he said slowly ; then 
he lifted his eyes and looked up, up, out, beyond 
the walls — beyond the world, it seemed. He spoke 
solemnly, intensely. 

“ I swear by Almighty God, in whom even 
you believe, I swear by all the living and all the 
dead, I swear by every sacred thing known, that, 
when I go to the shades beyond, she goes too.” 

Again there was a silence which seemed to 
vibrate. When Brocklehurst spoke again it was 
in a different voice, politely, quietly, as if he were 
discussing an ordinary bargain. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


9 


“ You will want time to think this over. It is 
now Monday ; on Thursday you can give me your 
answer.” 

“ I don’t want time,” stuttered the doctor. 
“ The thing is mad, it’s ” 

The door opened and a woman stood on the 
threshold. 

“ Well ? ” she said, holding the heavy portiere in 

her hand. “ What is it ? You look so — so 

What is it? You promised to come to me. Is 
there anything more I don’t know ? They said 
they had kept nothing back.” 

She came into the room and sat down, looking 
first at one man, then at the other. 

Her husband laughed lightly. 

“ No, Gra,” he answered, with a glance at Mac- 
Farlane ; “ you were told all. It’s valvular disease, 
as I thought. I have to be very careful, that’s all. 
I may, with care, live to be ninety. I was only 
having a business talk with Mac. I’m trying to 
persuade him to come to live with us permanently, 
to take care of me.” 

His wife’s eyelids flickered, and she stooped and 
picked up a thread off the carpet. 

“ Can’t / do that ? ” she asked. 

“ Well, you see, Mac is a doctor, and also a man 
has more authority. If I employed him to see 
after me, I should be bound to obey him ! ” 

“ But how could he leave his practice ? ” 

“ That’s just what we were trying to arrange. 
I think we shall manage it. You’ll give me your 
answer on Thursday, Mac, won’t you ? ” 

MacFarlane got up stiffly from his chair. 


10 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“Yes,” he said dully; “ but I don’t see how it’s 
to be done. Well, good-bye ; I’ll come in to-morrow 
as usual.” 

There were no formal hand-shakings ; he just 
went out of the door, and down the hall with a 
step a little less firm than usual. He slipped his 
arms into the sleeves of the overcoat a footman 
held out for him, took his hat and umbrella, and 
went down the steps to his brougham. 

“ Home,” he said sullenly, and sat back in the 
corner, watching the rain. 

“ Bah ! ” he exclaimed presently. “ The man’s 
mad. So am I, for that matter, to be frightened 
like a kid at the theatrical ravings of a lunatic.” 

When he reached his house he found that there 
were five patients waiting for him. Three were 
on his free list, daughters or wives of doctors. He 
went through the professional business automati- 
cally. There was no outward difference in his 
manner. 

He then had lunch, read over a pamphlet that 
had been sent him by a confrere , pulled out some 
manuscript paper and started to write an article 
for a medical paper. 

After writing a few lines in his rather untidy 
handwriting the pen fell from his fingers and rolled 
to the floor. 

“God ! if it’s that ! ” he exclaimed, and sat staring 
straight in front of him. 

Hitherto Brocklehurst’s announcement had 
struck him as mania. He knew that, whatever 
others might believe, there was no such thing as 
the supernatural. He did not believe it possible 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


11 


that a power unknown could be called into play 
to do the impossible. Quite suddenly the word 
“ suggestion ” flashed to his brain, and his hands 
were shaking on the table in front of him. 

He got dizzily to his feet and went to the 
bookcase that stretched to the ceiling all along 
two sides of the room. He mounted the steps 
and ran his eyes along a row of books till he 
found what he wanted. Then, with some volumes 
in his hand, he went back to his desk. They were 
the volumes on Phenomenes de Suggestion , from the 
complete works of Charcot. Feverishly he read on 
and on, turning over the pages hurriedly, searching 
in the index, taking notes on a sheet of paper. His 
man brought in some tea, and turned up the lights, 
but he still continued reading. At last he shut the 
cover with a bang, and rested his head on his 
hand. His face was grey and worn, his mouth 
shut in a hard line of pain. 

“ Fool that I was ! ” he muttered. Then he 
thought and thought. 

Suggestion, that was it. There was no necessity 
for the supernatural. 

At the Salpetriere experiments had been tried 
over and over again ; there was no uncertainty 
about the results. In the hypnotic state patients 
had been ordered to do certain things at certain 
times, and hours or days afterwards they had 
carried out the commands. 

Brocklehurst had always taken a deep interest 
in this branch of science ; he had hypnotized people 
over and over again. MacFarlane, who had not 
the power himself, had been amused and interested 


12 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


in some of his friend’s experiments. Why, even in 
the old days at Oxford Brocklehurst had given 
exhibitions of his gift. How all their circle had 
laughed when the sedate porter was found one 
afternoon sitting with his feet in a tub of water ! 
Brocklehurst had hypnotized him the day before, 
and, when he asked for ideas for suggestion, had 
accepted that offered by a mischievous youth : 
“ Order him to put his feet in a tub of water 
to-morrow at three o’clock.” No one thought it 
was possible, but the suggestion had worked all 
right. It was not the only time by any means. 
Many were the cases he could remember where 
the power had been called into play. 

Gra ? Ah, Gra had been an easy subject. She 
was interested in the matter herself, and had lent 
herself willingly for her husband’s experiments. 
What was easier than for him to give her the 
suggestion, time after time till it was beyond fear 
of failure, that her life was to end with his ? 

MacFarlane groaned and hit his clenched hand 
on the table. 

Then the telephone bell rang, and he seized the 
receiver and put it to his ear. 

“ Yes ? Yes, it is I. What is it, Gra ? ” 

The answer came buzzing through the wires. 

“ Mac, I couldn’t telephone before. I wanted 
to, but he wouldn’t let me go. I want to know 
whether he ought to exert himself with doing 
experiments.” 

“ What experiments ? He of course ought not 
to tire himself.” 

“ He insisted ! I couldn’t stop him, and I have 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


13 


never refused before. He hypnotized me after 
lunch. What? Mac, did you cry out ? Are you 
listening ? ” 

The man’s face was white with terror, his hands 
shook, and he was gasping, as if out of breath. 
He cleared his voice by a cough, then spoke 
quietly and distinctly. 

“ Gra, are you listening ? You must not let him 
do it again. Do you hear? Will you promise? 
Swear you won’t let him. 

“ Very well. I won’t if I can help it .” 

“ If you can help it? But of course you can 
help it.” 

“ Mac, don’t you remember I told you that he’d 
hypnotized me once when I was asleep? What? 
What’s the matter, Mac? You frighten me.” 

“ Go on.” The doctor’s voice was hoarse, and 
he could hardly hold the ear-piece against his 
ear his hand was so unsteady. 

“ He told me of that the next morning,” the 
woman’s voice went on ; “he only did it 'for an 
experiment, to see if he could. But if I refuse 
him he may do it again. Will it hurt him?” 

“Yes ; on no account must he do it. I will tell 
him so to-morrow.” 

“Yes, do. If you tell him perhaps he will 
obey. Oh, Mac, he seems to think that you will 
come and live with us.” 

“ Does he ? ” 

“Yes. Of course it’s absurd.” 

“ Why absurd ? ” 

“ Mac ! ” Gra’s voice climbed to a note of as- 
tonishment. Then she sighed. “ Dear, it would 


14 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


not do. Our strength is only human strength 

after all. I could not bear ” She broke off 

suddenly, and the listener hit his free hand on 
the desk. 

lt Very well; Gra, we will talk it over,” he said 
quietly ; “ don’t worry yourself now.” 

“ Good-bye, Mac. I must go.” 

“ Good-bye, Gra.” 

He hung up the receiver, and let his head drop 
on his arms. 

“ Oh my God, my God!” he groaned. “ So that 
was it. I am right.” 

He remained with his head on his outstretched 
arms for nearly an hour ; when he raised it his 
face had changed: always firm and resolute, it now 
held an added strength, and there was an expres- 
sion of almost sublime renunciation on it. 

“ I must save her,” he said quietly ; “ if my life 
will do it I am ready to give it — willingly, God 
knows.” 

Then he wrote two letters. One was to Brockle- 
hurst saying that he had already decided. He 
would go to him ; but first he must travel for 
a few weeks — he needed a change. He would 
arrange matters with him on the morrow. 

The other letter he wrote in French, and it was 
directed to a very well-known doctor in Paris. 


CHAPTER II 


MONTH after the twins came into the 



world Lady Ethersbury had a violent 
attack of indigestion, which she mistook for con- 
science. While the aggressive phase of piety that 
this gave rise to lasted the christening took place ; 
and, instead of the family names already chosen, 
the infants were labelled Grace and Faith. By 
the time the babies could lisp, Lady Ethersbury — 
who always did things rabidly — was deep in Ibsen, 
so her better feelings were not outraged by the 
fact that the pious names became Gra and Fai in 
small mouths which could not manage the sibilant 
and th. The baby names had stuck to the girls, 
and few friends of after days knew what the 
original appellations had been. When her daughters 
were nineteen her ladyship’s hobby happened to be 
Norman architecture. She had photographs and 
drawings of famous buildings hung all over her 
bedroom and boudoir, and her talk bristled with 
“ buttresses,” “ engaged shafts,” “ cushion capitals,” 
“ groins,” and “ surface sculpture.” Then she 
heard about Wane’s Ferry, managed to meet 
Cuthbert Brocklehurst at a friend’s house, and 
set herself to scheme for an invitation. She got 


15 


16 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


it after Brocklehurst had seen Gra. At Wane’s 
(as the house was called locally) Lady Ethersbury 
was enthusiastic and unwearying in her researches. 
Brocklehurst’s aunt, who kept house for him, was 
tired out. 

One night, when Gra was nearly asleep, her 
door opened, and her mother came in — stately 
and handsome even with dressing-gown and 
toupeeless head. 

“ It is the most purely Norman house in England,” 
said she, sitting on the bed. “ It has not been 
spoilt by any vulgar additions — anyway, outside, 
and the inside has been done very skilfully. Gra, 
we must keep it in the family.” 

“ Eh ? ” cried Gra, sitting up and blinking. 

“ My heart would break if I could not come here 
often. One of you must marry him.” 

Gra laughed. She was used to her mother. 

“ Why don’t you do it yourself? Then you 
could be here always.” 

“ My dear ! Don’t be absurd. He is thirty- 
five, I am forty-four. Besides, I do not care to 
give up my liberty — even for Wane’s. I think, 
I really think, he has taken a fancy to you. 
At first I thought it was Fai ; now I think it is 
you.” 

Gra gurgled. She was quite sure it was she. 

“ Mind, dearie,” her mother said, as she rose 
to leave the room, “ I shall be bitterly disappointed 
if we don’t keep it in the family.” 

So Gra was married to the purest piece of 
Norman architecture in England, and, amongst 
other things, a house in Curzon Street, a property 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


17 


in Scotland, a yacht, about fifty thousand a year, 
and — a very handsome man, who worshipped his 
wife with a wild overmastering passion, which 
seemed as unmodern as Wane’s Ferry. 

For two months she was quite happy. Then 
James MacFarlane returned from abroad, and she 
found her fate. He was her husband’s most 
intimate friend, and she had to see him every day 
when they were in London. 

After one heartrending scene between them, 
when the man’s iron will was broken down by 
some small accident, they agreed to suffer in 
silence, bury their mutual love out of sight, be 
honourable — and unhappy. 

For six years they had fought the fight. Quietly, 
doggedly they had gone on, sometimes in an 
agony of soul that had left its mark on their faces, 
sometimes with an almost automatic perseverance 
which resulted in a numbness of spirit not good 
to know. 

Only once since that first illuminating moment 
had his resolution broken down. When the baby 
died he had taken the dry-eyed, stunned mother 
into his arms and comforted her. Her tears had 
come at the tender touch, and together they had 
gone into the silent room and looked at the little 
waxen figure. 

“ Thank you, Mac,” she said quietly ; “ you have 
taken away the bitterness. It was not wrong, my 
dear; I would not even mind Wee Willie Winkie 
knowing of that. Oh, my baby ! ” 

But Wee Willie Winkie slept his last baby sleep, 
and the mother shut the memory in her heart, and 
2 


18 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


went on with her life. No other baby came to 
soothe with tiny hands the ache of the long struggle 
against dishonour. She was alone. Not even Fai 
knew, and when she was twenty-three Fai married 
the man of her choice and went to India. Lady 
Ethersbury was not a mother to confide in — though 
she was intensely affectionate and very sympathetic 
to her children, she had too light a mind to grasp 
an idea for long together. She was a will-o’-the- 
wisp mentally, and Gra would no more have 
thought of confiding in her than in a child. 

Now she had an added misery. Hitherto she 
had gathered strength by absence from the beloved 
one — strength to bear the constant agony of his 
presence during the four months of the year she 
spent in London. While she and her husband 
were travelling, or installed quietly at Wane’s 
Ferry, or in Scotland, she fought the fight alone, 
and was able to meet MacFarlane again with the 
certainty that she could go on as before. But 
now — would she be strong enough, she asked her- 
self, to see him day after day, and all day long 
for weeks and months, without breaking down ? 
It was cruel. Why was he doing it ? 

With trembling lips and beating heart she 
asked him this the day after the consultation. 

The man was racked with misery ; he did not 
know how to answer. He walked about her pretty 
room with quick, uneven strides, and stammered as 
he gave his explanation. 

“ Dear, it is hard, I know. But — but he had set 
his heart on it. I — well, I feel I owe him some- 
thing ; how can I refuse ? I — Gra, I have stolen 


SHADOW-SHAPES 19 

your heart from him ; I must try to save his life in 
return.” 

It did not sound convincing, and she lifted her 
eyebrows. 

“ Mac, you could have found some one else to do 
as well ; he only wants care, and some one to forbid 
him to over-exert himself.” 

“ Yes, I suggested that — but he wanted me. Oh, 
Gra, Gra, do trust me — I have my reasons.” The 
words were a cry of appeal. 

Suddenly she sprang to him and clutched his 
arm ; her face was white with an unnamed terror. 

“ Mac, oh, Mac — you — you — dear, you are going 
to do your best ? You are going to — to try and 
save him ? ” 

He read the thought that she did not know her- 
self, and he shuddered. 

“ Yes, I am going to try my utmost, that I swear. 
Till I return from Paris you must try your best 
too. And, Gra, you must keep him from hypno- 
tizing you. Do you hear ? ” 

“ I will try. But it is difficult. If I slept in 
another room it would be all right, but it is impos- 
sible. I suggested it after what you told me on 
the telephone last night, but he was upset, said 
suppose he was taken ill in the night, would I have 
him left there to die alone — and so on. I daren’t 
do it, Mac. I will refuse to be hypnotized when I 
can, but he seems to be crazy just now on the 
subject, and I fear he may try it at night.” 

Mac groaned. 

“ Is it so bad for him ? ” she asked anxiously. 

“ God ! yes, and — and for ” He broke off, 


so 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


then went on more quietly, “ That is the reason why 
I am coming, chiefly. I— Gra, will you swear to 
keep a secret ? ” 

“ Of course. Why not ? Tell me.” 

“Well, I am going to Paris to try if I can learn 
hypnotism. They say it is easy to learn if one 
has got will-power and concentration, and I have 
both. When I return — when I come to you, I 
want you to let me hypnotize you as often as 
I wish.” 

She gave a surprised exclamation, and he went 
on hurriedly. 

“ It never seems to hurt you, and I want to see 
if I can manage something.” 

“Oh!” She was puzzled, but trustful. “You 
think you can help him by it? ” 

“Yes; I hope to save him from a — I hope to help 
him. But he must not know. You understand ? 
If he knows it will be of no use.” 

“Very well, dear. I don’t understand, but I 
trust you absolutely.” 

The look in her eyes was so full of love and trust 
that his heart yearned over her. He was standing 
close to herchairas she looked up, and heput his hand 
on her shoulder to thank her — he could not speak. 

She suddenly put her hand on his, and lifted it 
to her mouth and kissed it. 

He choked, turned white, half moved away, then 
met her eyes again ; and in one moment he had 
knelt at her feet and drawn her into his arms. 

His iron will had broken down. A sleepless 
night and horrible torturing anxiety had weakened 
him. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


21 


Like a wounded bird she lay there in his arms, 
her heart beating, and her whole body shaking. 
She returned his frantic kisses with shut eyes. 
He held her face between his hands and devoured 
it with his gaze. 

“ Open your eyes,” he commanded huskily. 

She opened them. They were dark with feeling, 
her red mouth was trembling. 

“ Say you love me. Say you will always love 
me. 

“ I love you Oh, how I love you ! ” 

Then the maddening pulsing in his brain beat 
itself into wild thoughts. 

Why not save her? Why not take her away 
for ever, away from that evil influence? This idea 
of his hypnotic counter-suggestion was nonsense. It 
might not succeed — how could it succeed against 
her husband’s greater power and deeper experi- 
ence? He would be in misery the whole time, 
not knowing whether the verdict would be life 
or death. Brocklehurst seemed so sure. What was 
honour, what was virtue, compared with saving 
a life like this one ? If her husband were not near 
her he could do nothing, he would soon lose the 
influence that he had already gained. He — Mac- 
Farlane — would take her right away to distant 
lands. He had a very little money of his own, 
she had some too — enough for them to live on 
till he could build up a reputation in some new 
place ; he was clever at his work, he knew it would 
not be long before he earned money again. They 
would be happy — God ! how happy ! 

Then he poured out the passionate words in 


22 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


her ear — praying, imploring, breaking down her 
unspoken objections with all love’s arguments. 

She shivered, but she never took her eyes from 
his face. The square jaw was set in an iron 
strength ; the piercing, deep-set eyes searched her 
soul and laid it bare. 

“ Say yes — say yes! We cannot bear it — you 
were right. How can we live for weeks and 
months, perhaps years, side by side and never 
feed our starving hearts? It is not wrong ; love 
is the most divine thing in this world — do not 
let us deny it. Come to me ; Gra, Gra, I will 
love you more than life — come to me. You have 
proved my love, dear heart — for six long years 
I have loved you without hope. We have been 
good — oh, far too good. Gra, Gra ! ” 

He dropped his head in her lap, and she stroked 
his fair hair with trembling fingers. The glow 
and warmth of love were in her heart. The 
passionate outburst had moved her to the core 
of her being. He was right ; how could love like 
this be wrong ? She would consent, they would 
be happy. 

She lifted her head, and opened her lips to say 
the word. He raised himself, saw the expression 
in her eyes, and his heart throbbed with joy. 

“ You are ” she began. Then he saw her eyes 

fix on something across the room ; they became 
soft and yearning, and in a moment two tears 
welled out and ran down her cheeks. 

He turned and followed the direction of her 
gaze. She was looking at a painting on white china 
framed in Italian beaten silver ; it stood on a 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


white easel in the corner by the fireplace. It was 
the picture of a very beautiful baby of about a year 
old. He was sitting in a basket of flowers, and 
laughing out at the world with open mouth and 
round amused blue eyes. 

The man and woman were silent for some 
minutes — minutes throbbing with love and pain. 

When she spoke it was slowly, with agony in her 
voice. 

“ I want to meet Wee Willie Winkie again.” 

That was all ; but the man knew that the baby 
had fought the battle against him — and won. 

He got unsteadily to his feet, and sat down 
in a deep chair, covering his face with his hands. 
He could say nothing more. What was the good ? 
Only a brute could drag a baby from its mother’s 
arms by force — and that is what Gra believed 
would happen. 

Clever woman as she was, her undogmatic 
religion was that of a child. 

Wee Willie Winkie was waiting for her in a 
wonderful bright world somewhere out beyond the 
blue sky. As she had sung as a child so she might 
sing now, with a beautiful faith that shamed all 
unbelief : 


There’s a home for little children 
Above the bright blue sky, 
Where Jesus reigns in glory, 

A home of peace and joy ; 

No home on earth is like it, 

Nor can with it compare, 

For every one is happy, 

Nor could be happier, there. 


24 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


She had expressed all when she had said, “ I 
want to meet Wee Willie Winkie again.” 

What was there left for him to do but hide his 
heart from her, and smile ? He could, he doubted 
not, overcome her objections, and by the sheer force 
of love make her come to him — but what was the 
use ? She would not be happy, really happy as he 
wished her to be. He knew that he should see a 
look on her face sometimes not good to see when 
one loved as he loved her. It would be when she 
thought she was alone, and then the dear eyes 
would overflow, and the dear mouth tremble, and 
a yearning agony of hopeless longing would pinch 
all the beautiful features. Ah ! he could not bear 
that. No ; he must go on as he was — fight down the 
pain, fight down desire, be calm, faithful, and long- 
suffering. He could hope for nothing. He had a 
rival — and though that rival was but a baby, a baby 
gone out to that “ home for little children,” the wee 
hands were stronger than his own, the wee red 
mouth calling could be heard beyond his deeper 
tones. He got up softly and went to her. He 
stroked her head tenderly. 

“ Forgive me. I was mad,” he said quietly. 

She rose, and stood facing him. Then she 
placed her hands on his shoulders. 

“I love you, Mac.” There was a little catch in her 
voice. “ I — I will even give up my baby for you 
if you wish.” 

He shook his head. 

“ No, beloved ; I am not that kind of man. For- 
give me. I did not sleep last night, and I am very 
anxious. My will gave out. Forgive me,” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


25 


She leaned her face upwards, and kissed him. 

“ There is nothing to forgive. It was my fault. 
You are the one man in the world for me, dear. 
It is hard — oh, terribly hard. God knows how we 
have tried; He cannot blame us very much, I think. 
Somehow, Mac, this has made it easier for me. I 
think I can go on now without fear. And you — 
you are so strong, you will help me to be good. 
You are so strong.” 

“ Yes, dear, I will help you.” He bent and kissed 
her hands, one after the other. Then he went out 
of the room. 

He clenched his hands and leant his head against 
the outside of the door. 

“Strong!” he murmured bitterly. “ Strong ! 
Oh my God ! ” 


CHAPTER III 

I N a fortnight the Brocklehursts, by the famous 
doctor’s orders, went down to Wane’s Ferry. 
Cuthbert argued against the move, and said he 
could not drag his wife away in the middle of the 
season ; but she laughed at him, and then became 
stern, put on the manner of a severe nurse, called 
him “ sir,” and said it was her duty to see that he 
did what he was told. 

He gave in ; he really loved Wane’s, and was 
always perfectly content in the country. 

At Wane’s Ferry he kept his collection of coins 
— one of the most famous, outside a museum, in 
England. He was a very learned numismatist, and 
wrote on the subject in many English and foreign 
papers. It was one of the great interests of his life. 

“ After all,” he said musingly, with his eyes fixed 
on her, “ we are all right there. Also we must see 
to the west tower for Mac ; he will be with us in 
a few weeks.” 

“ Yes,” she said. 

“ Do you think there is anything we had better 
order for it before we leave town ? Do you think 
we can make it comfortable enough with what 
we’ve got ? ” 


26 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


27 


“ Oh, dear Cuthbert, there are tons of things ; 
there is ample to furnish more rooms than there 
are in the west tower.” 

“ All right. You’ll see to it, won’t you ? ” 

“Yes, I’ll see to everything. You need not 
worry yourself about it.” 

When MacFarlane arrived in July he was look- 
ing ill, and husband and wife both noticed it, the 
latter with a little catch in her heart. 

They had had letters from him now and again, 
from Paris, Berlin, Vienna. He said he was visit- 
ing his old friends, and enjoying himself. When 
he came back he looked as if he had been working 
night and day. 

“ Good heavens, Mac ! ” exclaimed Brocklehurst, 
“ this doesn’t look as if your holiday had done you 
good. Why, man, you seem more fagged than you 
are at the end of a hard season.” 

“ It’s nothing,” he said lightly ; “ I’ve just had a 
nasty bout of influenza, and it always pulls one 
down. I shall soon get all right down here.” 

“ I hope so ; I hate to see you looking so peeky. 
Also you have to keep me in order ! I’m sure 
Gra is glad you’ve come ; she complains bitterly 
that I won’t obey her.” 

“Will you obey me ? ” Mac asked suddenly. 

“ Of course I shall ; that’s what I’ve arranged 
all this for — as you know.” 

There was a curious note in his voice that made 
Gra look up quickly. 

“ Well,” he went on, “ if you are rested you had 
better have a look at your new abode : I hope 
you will find it comfortable. If there is anything 


28 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


else you would like, I trust you to ask for it. 
Gra, will you go with Mac? I haven’t seen it, 
old chap ; Gra is so severe, she won’t hear of 
me mounting the stairs. She says the one flight 
of stairs is quite enough for me ! ” 

“ Quite right,” answered Mac. ‘‘You really 
oughtn’t to do those ; stairs are always trying to 
the heart. Can’t you manage to fix up a bed- 
room down here somewhere ? ” 

“No ; there are only small rooms on the ground 
floor, except the various sitting-rooms, and I can’t 
turn any of those topsy-turvy. One of the little 
rooms would do for me alone, but not for Gra — 
and I don’t care to be alone. By the way, Gra 
insisted on having a bell fitted up from our room 
to yours ! I told her it was idiotic, but she was 
adamant.” 

“ She was perfectly right, Brock,” MacFarlane 
said quietly. “If you ever were ill in the night 
she would want to call me.” 

Brocklehurst laughed. 

“ I’m not at all likely to be ill in the night. I 
never have been yet. I usually sleep like a top. 

I only had those attacks when I was dead tired.” 

“One never knows. Besides, you said just 
now that you did not care to sleep alone.” Mac 
said this carelessly, but he looked sharply at his 
patient. 

Cuthbert flinched very slightly, but he laughed 
again as he answered. 

“ Oh, that’s different. Having Gra there makes 
me easier. I am not in the least nervous, but 
when one has once had those horrible attacks, 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


29 


and when one has been told that one may go off 
pop any moment, one naturally likes to have some 
one near. Well, go along and see your rooms, 
and mind you tell Gra if there is any single thing 
you can think of that would make them more 
comfortable.” 

“ Thanks, I will. But I am sure I shall find 
them delightful. Au revoir.” 

Gra preceded him out of the room and up 
the grand staircase in silence. He looked about 
him as he went, and thrilled, as of old, to the 
wonders of the superb architecture. The hall and 
staircase had never been changed, and the per- 
fection of the lines always drew involuntary sighs 
of admiration from even the most ignorant sight- 
seer. MacFarlane had been familiar with the 
house for sixteen years — ever since his friend had 
come into the property — and he loved every stone, 
every tracery, every rough-hewn crude coat of 
arms. 

Gra guessed what he was thinking, and turned 
her head and looked at him. 

“Yes, isn’t it perfect?” she said. “Wouldn’t 
Wee Willie Winkie have been happy here ? ” 

He nodded ; his sympathy for that old sorrow 
was too deep for mere words. 

“Now,” she went on, “ that little unappreciative 
beast will have it some day. Fancy, Mac, he re- 
marked last year, when he was down here — ‘ Horrid 
cold place this hall, Cuthbert ; I wonder you don’t 
carpet it all over, and hang jolly warm curtains 
about. I don’t fancy it would be difficult, either, 
to make a false ceiling — boards you know — just 


30 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


from gallery to gallery. You could have it lin- 
crustaed over to look like oak or something.’ 
Lincrusta , Mac, and a false ceiling\ And that’s 
what he’ll do, you see if he doesn’t.” 

Mac shuddered. Brocklehurst’s cousin had been 
at Oxford with him his last year, and had always 
been one of his greatest aversions. 

“ Don’t let us think about it, Gra. I hope 
neither of us may live to see anything so ghastly.” 

She sighed, and continued to lead the way along 
a narrow corridor with deep loopholes in the 
thick walls, then along another at right angles, 
up a flight of steep worn steps, and down another 
passage. Then she opened a door — one of the 
“ pure Norman ” doors that her mother had gushed 
over. The room into which they stepped was 
octangular, and round the walls were deep loop- 
holes, glazed now, but in the old days they had 
undoubtedly been open to the air. The walls 
were hung with tapestry, and the floor was carpeted 
cosily. Easy chairs and a sofa lent modern com- 
fort, and a large writing-table was placed in the 
middle of the room. 

Downstairs in the hall the electric lights were 
hidden in old lamps ; here the sconces were 
modern and graceful, though solid. 

“ It’s delightful,” he said gratefully, looking 
round. 

“ I’ve left you the shelf and the mantelpiece free 
for your own photos and things. Of course when 
your books fill up all these dreary-looking cases 
it will look much more comfy. Now come and 
see the rest.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


31 


She opened a door hidden in the tapestry and 
disclosed a winding staircase going upwards. 

“ You see,” she said, pointing, “ I have had the 
lower stairs boarded up. Those other rooms were 
impossible for use, so I saw no good in leaving 
the stairs open for you to break your neck over ; 
you would hardly know that stairs go downwards, 
would you ? ” 

“ It’s certainly very cleverly done. How did 
you manage it ? ” 

“ I thought of it, and the carpenter carried it 
out. We just continued the floor, as it were. IPs 
quite strong ; I made him put heavy beams under- 
neath into the walls. As it's all covered with 
carpet, it really looks quite nice.” 

She stood and frankly admired her handiwork ; 
then she laughed. 

“ I think I should have made quite a good 
architect, Mac ! Come on.” 

Upstairs, his bedroom was light, and prettily 
furnished in chintz. Little curtains fell straight 
from brass rods at every window, and the walls 
were covered with the same material. 

“ How perfectly charming ! ” cried MacFarlane. 
“ Gra, you must have slaved, my dear What’s 
behind this?” 

But she caught his arm, laughing gaily. 

“ No ; you’re not to look till you’re prepared 
to be properly impressed, sir ! This is my chef 
dceuvre . There ! ” She drew the curtain on its 
rod, and displayed a large fitted bath, with a geyser 
installed on a shelf at the head. 

“ You see,” she said as he gazed in astonishment, 


32 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ you’d have had to tramp miles to the nearest 
bathroom, so I arranged this. I was disappointed 
that they couldn’t bring up the hot-water pipes, 
but they said it was utterly impossible. The water 
and gas were comparatively easy, and it’s a good 
geyser. Isn’t it jolly ? ” she ended childishly. 

MacFarlane was staring out of the nearest 
window ; he had a lump in his throat and could 
not speak. 

She touched him on the arm. 

“ Aren’t you impressed ? ” she asked gaily. Then 
she saw his eyes, and hurriedly moved to the door. 

“ Come,” she said quickly, “ you must see your 
roof now.” 

She mounted, breathing fast, and stood before 
him on the roof of the tower. 

An awning stretched across half of it, under 
which were wicker chairs and a table. The other 
half had flower-boxes filled with gay flowers, 
and creepers which trailed over the low stone 
parapet. 

She looked at the stretch of beautiful country 
before her, then she sighed. 

“ This is your fair-weather study, Mac. It’s 
nearly always cool up here.” 

He took her hand and kissed it silently, and 
she knew that he was pleased. 

They stood for a few moments looking at the 
view, then with one accord they sank into chairs, 
and he bent forward and spoke earnestly. 

“Tell me, Gra, how do you think he is? Has 
he had any attack since the one you wrote to me 
about a fortnight ago ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ No. But that was bad, Mac. I did all you 
and Sir Ellis told me. He was not unconscious, I 
am thankful to say, but he turned horribly grey 
and cold. Lightfoot was there, and he helped me, 
and we got Rivers up too. We filled three hot- 
water bags for him, and we gave him the drops. 
It did not last long, not nearly so long as the one 
in May, and he was all right again by the after- 
noon. I made him sleep afterwards, and he 
awakened seemingly quite well.” 

“ What caused it do you think ? ” 
u I don’t think — I’m sure. First of all the whole 
day before he had been writing ; he insisted on 
finishing an article for a German scientific maga- 
zine, and he sent it off to be translated and typed. 
Then the morning of the attack he walked down 
to Dene’s farm and went all over it. Dene wanted 
something done to the barns. He met the agent 
there, and discussed things with him. There was 
a storm, and he came back soaked. I did not 
know that he had gone ; he evaded me by saying 
he was going to read in the library — he promised 
not to write. So I went to the rose-garden, and 
down to the East Lodge to see a new baby Mrs. 
O’Sullivan has had. I got back about twelve, and 
searched everywhere for him, and was just going 
out in the rain to see if I could find him, when 
he appeared, wet through and tired out. I called 
Lightfoot and told him to see that he changed 
everything. About ten minutes after Lightfoot 
sent down for me, and when I got to the dressing- 
room I found him in the state I’ve told you of. 
I’m glad you’ve come, Mac. He will obey you, I 
3 


34 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


think. I have been able to prevent him doing 
some extra mad things, but not all.” 

“Yes.” MacFarlane was frowning. “We have 
our work cut out for us. One or other of us must 
always be with him. Poor chap ! It’s beastly 
hard on him, of course, after having always done 
everything he wanted, but his only chance is to 
keep quiet.” He hesitated, then went on slowly. 
“And the hypnotism, Gra? — he hasn’t tried 
that ? ” 

“No. He has not asked me once to let him 
do it. But, Mac, I’m not at all sure that he does 
not try it sometimes.” 

“ How — when ? ” he exclaimed. 

“Well, I may be doing him an injustice — I hope 
it is not as I think — but I was awakened once by 
a great noise — it was that elm I told you of that 
fell in the gale — and Cuth was standing by my 
side, and he had the queer look in his eyes he 
always used to have when he’d just waked me from 
an hypnotic sleep. He made an excuse, and said 
he had come to me when he heard the tree fall, as 
he thought I’d be frightened ; but — well, you know 
the sort of feeling one has when some one has been 
near one for some time? I couldn’t get over the 
idea that he was not speaking the truth.” 

MacFarlane wasplaying a tattoo with his fingers 
on the iron table. He looked worried. 

“ If it is as you think, there is only one thing to 
be done. Gra, that is why I made up my mind to 
learn to do the thing myself.” 

“Why? How? By the way, can you do it 
now ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


35 


“Yes. It is not so hard as I, in my ignorance, 
thought. I believe most of us could do it if we 
knew how to concentrate the will.” 

“ Well, what are you going to do ? ” 

“ I am going to hypnotize you, as I told you, and 
I am going to will you to wake up if Brock gets 
out of bed and comes to yours.” 

“Oh, I see. Yes, that’s a splendid idea. How 
clever of you to think of it ! ” 

He was glad that she believed the lie ; luckily 
she knew nothing of the technicalities of “ sugges- 
tion.” What he had told her he knew was 
impossible, but he trusted to her believing it, and 
rejoiced to see that she did. It gave a good 
reason for his desire to hypnotize her ; he knew now 
that she would not wonder at his wish to do so. 
Indeed, she was anxious that he should begin, and 
they planned ways and means like two conspirators. 
For one hour after breakfast Brocklehurst always 
read the papers in the library ; this was an old 
habit of his, and it could be counted on. That 
one hour was theirs, and they arranged to meet, 
when fine, down at the stone summer-house in the 
eastern garden. This small round building was 
mounted on square pillars, and it was reached by 
iron stairs which echoed and re-echoed when any 
one was mounting, so that it was easy to count 
on no interruption without warning. In wet 
weather they could go to the gallery in the 
armoury. 

MacFarlane would not have her come to his 
rooms ; some servant might see her coming, and a 
scandal would follow. 


36 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


They talked for a little while longer, then she 
turned to lead the way down the steps. 

“ Oh, I forgot,” said she when half-way down ; “ I 
must show you.” 

She went into the bedroom again. 

“ Here is the bell which rings in your man’s 
room ; he’s just across the lower corridor. That 
alarm up there rings from my room. I put the 
push under my pillow every night. If I need you 
I will ring. You must come straight in — the doors 
are never locked.” 

“ You swear to ring if you are ever in the least 
anxious, or even if you think you would rather have 
me there ? ” 

“Yes, Mac, I promise.” 

“ You see, Gra, he need never know you rang if 
there is no necessity. I will come quite quietly 
to the door of the dressing-room and look through : 
if I find him really ill I can come in ; if he is better 
by then I can steal away.” 

“ Yes, yes,” she said, with a grateful look at him, 
“that is just what I want. He would fuss if I had 
sent for you without reason. Thank you, Mac. 
I am glad you like everything. Now we will go 
down to tea.” 


CHAPTER IV 


D R. JAMES MACFARLANE was dreaming. 

He was fishing — a sport of which he was 
very fond. He had stood for some time on the 
bank of a swiftly flowing gurgling stream, but the 
fish were shy, and he had had no success. Then 
he saw a little whirl in the water under an over- 
hanging bush, caught a glimpse of a large head, 
and neatly and skilfully cast his line. The fly 
alighted exactly over the place, and again he saw 
the whirl in the water. Then, before the trout 
rose to the fly, he heard a bell. 

“ Damn ! ” he exclaimed. “ They must wait for 
me. 

But suddenly stream and bank and line vanished, 
and he sat up in bed. 

“ I wonder what awakened me ? ” he muttered 
crossly. “ I wish I’d caught that trout ! It was a 
bell, and I thought it was for lunch.” 

He rubbed his eyes. Then he gave a violent 
start, leant forward and switched on the light. 
His eyes went up at once to the alarm bell, and he 
sprang from the bed. A small board had been 
arranged by the bell, on which a white disc showed 
when it had been rung — the disc was there now. 

37 


38 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


He flung on his dressing-gown, put his feet into 
his slippers, and ran from the room and down 
the stairs, turning the lights on as he went. 

The corridors were pitch dark, but he found 
the electric-light switches and flooded the place 
with brilliance. 

As fast as he could he ran till he reached the 
dressing-room door. He was about to burst in, 
when he remembered what he had arranged with 
Gra, and opened the door very softly. The 
room was dark, but he felt his way across to the 
bedroom door without turning on the light. 

Very, very gently he pulled it open and peered in. 

He could see nothing at first — the big room was 
lit only by a night-light — then gradually, as his 
eyes became accustomed to the gloom, he made 
out a figure standing by the further bed. It was 
Gra’s bed, he knew, and he screwed up his eyes 
to see what she was doing. Then he saw that 
it was Brocklehurst standing there in his pyjamas. 
He was bending slightly forward and moving his 
hands with a rhythmic motion. Now he could 
see Gra lying still, turned on her side with her 
hand under her pillow ; he could see her face now, 
and it was peaceful and quiet, the face of a sleeper. 
Brocklehurst was standing with his back to the 
watcher. What was he doing? Ah ! MacFarlane 
almost exclaimed aloud. Then he put his hand 
quickly to his mouth. 

What should he do ? 

The rhythmic motion stopped, and now he saw 
the tall figure bend lower and stare at the sleep- 
ing face. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


39 


His heart started hammering so loudly that 
he feared it might be heard. A hundred thoughts 
flew hurriedly through his brain. What should he 
do ? Good God ! what should he do ? He thought 
of dropping something in the dressing-room, and 
so interrupt the man who was trying to influence 
his love’s life. Then he put that idea away with 
horror. It might startle the man in the next room 
with terrible results — terrible to all of them. Then 
he thought of creeping back along the upper hall 
again, and coming back noisily, so that Brockle- 
hurst could hear him, knocking at the door, entering, 
and explaining that the bell had rung. He was 
about to do this when he suddenly realized that 
it would counteract all his plans. Brocklehurst 
would be furious; he would probably keep the door 
locked afterwards, and she would be cut off from 
help. No, that would not do. He must think of 
something for the future, but now, now what was 
to be done ? 

Then his brain cleared, with a swift rush came 
the certainty of what to do. 

He bent his head forward, and across the room 
he stared at the white face lying on the pillow. 
His heart almost ceased to beat ; he was all will. 
The beads of sweat sprang out on his forehead, 
collected, and rolled down his face — a face like a 
mask, devoid of all expression except in the eyes, 
which gazed and gazed with superhuman purpose in 
their depths. The perspiration rolled to his collar 
and soaked it, his hands became wet and clammy, 
but he was totally unconscious of his body — he was 
mind incarnate. He seemed to see his will going 


40 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


out to that figure on the bed in visible waves, 
mingling with those other will-waves and fighting 
with them — a fight for life. He did not move, 
he looked like a statue carved in stone, all but 
the eyes of living fire. 

How long it lasted he did not know ; time, with 
everything else, was non-existent. Then at last 
the figure by the bed straightened itself, the arms 
came out again and made some sweeping passes. 

The doctor drew his breath slowly through his 
nostrils ; then, as that other figure turned slowly, 
he quietly shut the door. A very faint light stole 
into the dressing-room from the passage. He 
sank into a chair and shivered. He could not 
move just yet. If Brocklehurst came and found 
him he could not help it, his strength was gone. 
He sat and shivered, then he realized that he was 
soaking wet. Staggering slightly he rose to his 
feet. 

“ I must not get ill,” he muttered ; “ I must keep 
absolutely fit.” 

Feeling his way like a blind man, he got to the 
open door, went out, and shut it softly. He leant 
against the wall for a few moments before he could 
force his legs to move, then he went slowly back 
the way he had come, turning out the lights 
automatically. 

In his room he poured out some brandy and 
drank it. He wanted to fling himself on his bed 
at once and sleep and sleep — but no, he must keep 
well for her sake. 

He lit the gas in the geyser, and, as the hot 
water flowed, he stripped off his soaking garments 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


41 


After his bath he went to his medicine chest 
and carefully measured out a few drops from a 
phial, added water, and drank it. Only then did 
he get into bed and turn out the light. But before 
doing so he pressed the button of the board by the 
bell, and watched the white disc spring back and 
hide itself. 

The next morning, while his man moved about 
the room putting away his things, and preparing 
others, he lay and wondered. How had the bell 
rung ? Certainly Gra had rung it — but how ? To 
her sleeping brain must have come the sense of 
danger ; her fingers, quite near the bell-push under 
her pillow, must have pressed it. Her sub-conscious 
self had taken steps to save her. But could he 
rely on that always ? He knew he could not. 
If she had been lying in any other position it 
would have been impossible ; she would not have 
had time, before the complete hypnotic trance, to 
have taken action. In any case, even though 
her hand was touching the bell, it was marvellous 
— a miracle. No, he must not depend on miracles ; 
he was a practical man, and he must depend on 
his own brain. He must do with less sleep, he 
must install himself in the dressing-room night 
after night and wait and watch. 

He had noticed the time in his room when 
he returned the night before : it was one o’clock. 
Probably Brocklehurst always chose the same time. 
He remembered now that his friend had always 
worked at college from eleven till two, saying 
that his brain was clearer at that time than any 
other. He, as a man who had doctoring in view 


42 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


as a profession, had been interested in this, but 
had by tests convinced himself of its truth. 
Brocklehurst’s vitality, judging by his pulse and 
circulation, was at its height in those hours ; at 
three his pulse would begin to beat slower, the 
blood-pressure would become feeble. 

Yes, it was perhaps to be reckoned on that 
the hypnotic experiments would take place between 
twelve and one. They retired to bed about eleven, 
the first sleep was the deepest, and Cuthbert 
would choose that, as there was less chance of 
his wife waking. 

Well, he must wait till twelve each night, listen 
carefully, and creep into the dressing-room. There 
he must wait by the door ; his ears would be so 
strained to hear the slightest noise that he would 
know when Brocklehurst got out of bed. Then 
he could open the door between the two rooms. 
Ah ! one other thing would help him — he could 
bore a small hole through the door. In the day it 
would not be seen — he would make a tiny brown 
plug, the colour of the mahogany, and would take 
it out when he entered the room and insert it 
again when he had the door open. 

As he dressed he plotted and planned till he 
had arranged everything. He even prepared an 
excuse for being found in the dressing-room in 
case an accident should bring Brocklehurst there 
during his watch. 

As a boy he had walked in his sleep ; he had 
also done so once or twice at college. For many 
years now this uncomfortable habit had been cured, 
but he made up his mind casually to inform his 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


43 


host that he had found himself in his sitting-room 
at night with work in front of him, and that several 
times of late he had worked in his sleep. 

He thought of every contingency ; nothing now 
could take him by surprise. 

As he went down to breakfast he wondered a 
little whether Gra would have any recollection of 
ringing the bell, but when he met her he realized 
that she was perfectly unconscious of the night’s 
happenings. She was not looking quite well, he 
noticed, with an ache in his heart. There were 
dark marks under her eyes, and she was rather 
listless. 

When she opened her letters, though, her face 
flooded with joy, and she gave vent to a little 
childish crow of excitement. 

“Bill’s got his leave,” she cried, “and he and 
Fai are coming home ! Oh, Cuth, how pleased 
I am!” 

“ I’m glad, dear. When do they come ? ” 

“ They will arrive — let’s see — where’s a calendar ? 
Thanks. Um — um — oh, they arrive next Monday. 
Hurrah ! Cuth, may I send a wire to them and 
ask them to come straight here? and write to 
mother to tell her to meet them and come with 
them? You see if they don’t do that mother is 
sure to keep them for ages — she won’t part with 
Fai at first. Do let me.” 

Cuthbert laughed. 

“ You little goose ! ” he said affectionately. “ Of 
course you may ask them. I suppose we’re 
allowed to have visitors, Mac ? ” he added whimsi- 
cally. 


44 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“Yes, you’re allowed to have visitors!” Mac 
answered, with mock gravity. “ As a matter of 
fact it is the best thing for you. You must ‘ keep 
cheerful/ as the doctors say.” 

He was himself pleased at the news ; he did not 
know what he hoped, but he felt relieved that Fai 
and her husband and mother would be in the 
house. He did not for one instant propose to 
confide in any one, but he felt that Fai being there 
would make things easier for him somehow. For 
one thing Gra would be cheerful — she adored her 
sister — and to keep her cheerful would go a long 
way towards keeping her well. He feared he 
knew not what : he was terrified that the long fight 
for mastery of her mind would, in time, sap her 
strength. Yet what could he do? He had 
thought and thought till his brain reeled, and 
he could see no other way to counteract Cuth- 
bert’s horrible design. Better that she should fall 
ill even than — that other awful possibility. 

Each day since his arrival he had hypnotized 
her, and thrown all his heart and soul into his 
brain as he commanded her to ignore those other 
suggestions and do his will. She was to live, live, 
live to the span of her natural life. Her body was 
to be under his orders, not under Cuthbert’s. It 
had taken it out of him terribly ; it was quite a 
new power he had developed, and the effort was 
tremendous. As time went on he knew it would 
become easier, but — would he succeed ? That was 
the thought that tormented all his waking hours. 
Which will was the stronger, his or Brocklehurst’s ? 

Anyway, he was doing all he could, he could not 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


45 


do more. Her husband had had the start of him — 
that was the thought that agonized him. 

All those weeks when he was studying night 
and day on the Continent Cuthbert had had a 
clear field. He did not doubt for a moment that 
each night she had been subjected to the same 
treatment that, by accident, he had discovered 
in the early hours of that morning. How far had 
it gone? Could he counteract it ? Was his new- 
found power strong enough? These and other 
questions buzzed and buzzed through his brain 
till he felt that something would burst in his 
head. 

That afternoon, when husband and wife were 
out, looking at a new motor, he stole to their room, 
and, locking the doors into the passage, he care- 
fully bored a tiny hole through the door between 
the two rooms. It was hidden in the moulding, and 
on the dressing-room side he stopped it with a plug 
he had made and coloured in the privacy of his 
own room. To be able to find it in the dark he 
measured the distance between it and the key- 
hole on a rule, and marked it with a notch — a 
rule he meant to keep always in the pocket of 
his dressing-gown. 

For three nights he watched, and for two out 
of the three he had to oppose his will to that 
other over the unconscious body of the girl. The 
night in between these two he heard no movement 
from the other room. One o’clock struck, two, 
and he heard no sound. Then he opened the 
door very softly, just a crack, through which he 
could see better than through the tiny hole. 


46 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Brocklehurst was lying on his back breathing 
regularly — he was sound asleep. MacFarlane went 
on watching till half-past three — he would take no 
risks. Then he shut the door and went back to 
the west tower, worn out, but deeply thankful that 
for one night at least Gra had not been subjected 
to the fight of wills. 

On the third night he felt dead tired when he 
returned to his room. It was as much as he could 
do to force himself to take the warm bath that he 
knew was necessary to restore the vigour to his 
aching body. When he lay down he sighed with 
relief, and turned luxuriously in the cool sheets. 
He was just on the borderland of sleeping and 
waking when from over his head came the sharp 
ring of the alarm bell. He sprang straight from 
the bed to his feet and turned on the light. It 
was no accident, no chance touch of the bell-push 
by Gra’s fingers — he realized this as he flung on 
his dressing-gown. The bell went on ringing — 
not a gentle, uncertain ring that the unconscious 
fingers of a sleeping woman might give, but a firm, 
unceasing, shrill sound. She wanted him, that was 
certain. He snatched up the case of medicines 
he always kept ready on a table, and ran. He 
opened the dressing-room door softly as agreed, 
sprang across to the other door and opened it. 
The bedroom was flooded with light. Gra was 
bending in her nightgown by her husband’s bed, 
and trying to lift him. 

“ Come quick ! ” she cried. “ He cried out, and 
when I awoke I found him like this. Quick, 
Mac ! ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


47 


From the other side of the bed Mac bent and 
looked at Brocklehurst. His mouth was blue, and 
the face was a ghastly grey. 

The doctor stripped down the clothes and put 
his ear to the heart of the unconscious man. 
He could hear very faint beats, few and far 
between. 

“ The gas-lamp. Hurry!” he exclaimed. “ Fill 
the bottles as soon as you can.” 

Gra flew to the dressing-room, turned up the 
light, then lit the burners under a full kettle that 
by MacFarlane’s orders was always there in case 
of emergency. She put the indiarubber, flannel- 
covered bags ready, then went back to the bed- 
room. Mac was filling a small glass syringe very 
carefully. 

“ The spirit-lamp and the spirit,” he said, with- 
out looking up. She lit a small lamp and held it 
out, then she suddenly set it down on the table 
and fell sideways on her bed. Mac started, ceased 
his work, and stared at her. 

“ Go on, go on,” she said faintly. “ You can see 
to me after. I — I feel so queer.” 

As she spoke she turned whiter and her head fell 
back on to the pillow. 

The colour in MacFarlane’s face ebbed away, 
his lips opened in a soundless cry ; then he looked, 
not at Gra, but at the man on the other bed. The 
mouth was fallen slightly open, the greyness of the 
skin was more marked. 

“ God help me ! ” The agonized cry broke from 
Mac at last. Then he gritted his teeth. 

He passed the needle through the flame quickly, 


48 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


bent over Brocklehurst, turned him slightly, and 
pushed the needle into his thigh. 

From the other room he could hear the sound 
of the singing kettle, but now he turned to Gra. 

“ Oh, give me strength, give me strength ! ” he 
cried. He put out his hands and moved them to 
and fro, to and fro, over the white face. The 
colour began to come back to it, but she did not 
open her eyes. Then he bent and whispered 
to her. Twice in one night — was he strong 
enough ? 

“ Come back, come back,” he whispered; “ I com- 
mand you to come back.” The sweat dropped 
from his face on to hers. He agonized. The 
colour remained in her cheeks. 

Then he heard the water boiling and ran to the 
dressing-room. He filled one bag, went back with 
it, and placed it at Brocklehurst’s feet, filled a 
second and put it under the white feet of the 
woman. Then he bent and listened to Cuthbert’s 
heart. He could only hear his own pulses throbbing 
and throbbing. 

He poured some liniment in his hand and began 
to rub slowly backwards and forwards on the 
man’s breast ; as he did it he looked over his 
shoulder at the other bed. Gra was breathing 
gently ; she looked as if she were quietly asleep. 
He moved to one side, still rubbing automatically, 
and he said, “ Come back, come back,” over and 
over again. He felt as if his soul were wandering 
alone in some horrible hell. 

Minutes passed, then he felt under his hand a 
movement. He turned and laid his head where 


SHADOW-SHAPES 49 

his hand had been. Yes, now he could hear the 
faint beating, more regular now, and stronger. 

Quick as lightning he moved across to Gra and 
made the sweeping passes across her to bring her 
back to consciousness. From the other bed came 
a sigh. 

When Brocklehurst opened his eyes MacFarlane 
was leaning over him. 

“ Now drink this,” he said quietly ; “you are all 
right now.” 

As the man drank he looked round him. 

“ Where is Gra ? ” he said faintly. Then a 
sudden look of fright came into his eyes, and he 
repeated louder, “ Where is Gra ? ” 

“ I am here,” said his wife’s voice. “ Oh, Cuth, 
I’m glad you are better. I was stupid. I — I 
suppose 1 fainted, Mac! Idiot! Fancy, Cuth, 
I left Mac all the work to do. Oh, what on earth 
came over me ? ” 

Cuthbert’s eyes met those of the doctor, and in 
them was a gleam of triumph. With the look still 
there he said quietly : 

“ It was a bad bout this time, Mac ; I was 
nearly gone.” 

MacFarlane poured out some brandy and 
drank it. 


4 


CHAPTER V 


M ACFARLANE knew that he must be very 
careful not to rouse Brocklehurst’s sus- 
picions. It was a most difficult position for him. 
If the subject was ever referred to again — which 
he did not think likely — he must still profess to 
disbelieve that any harm coinciding with her hus- 
band’s death could come to Gra. If her attack, 
synchronous with Cuthbert’s, was mentioned, he 
must pretend to believe it arose from her sudden 
fright in the dead of night. On no account must 
Brocklehurst guess that the doctor had solved the 
mystery — if he did he would suspect a counterplot, 
and would take steps to foil it. 

But all the same he felt that he must do what 
he could to stop these midnight seances. It was 
doing the man harm, and he had no doubt 
whatever that the terrible seizure in the night 
was due to overfatigue. He knew himself how 
terribly exhausted he was after exerting all his 
power of will — and he was a strong man. What 
must the effect be on a man who was suffering 
from disease ? He had seen the result in the 
night. Yes, he must tackle Brocklehurst on the 
subject ; perhaps if he frightened him sufficiently 
he might give it up. 


50 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


51 


He had returned to his room at five o’clock, 
satisfied that there was no more danger. Brockle- 
hurst had fallen into a quiet sleep. Gra had 
obediently taken a draught he had prepared for 
her, and he knew she would sleep profoundly. He 
would send word to the kitchen, directly the servants 
were up, that on no account was their master to 
be disturbed. 

In the meanwhile Mac sat by the writing-table 
in his sitting-room and thought, with his face 
buried in his hands. He was very tired, but he 
knew he could not sleep. His thoughts buzzed 
round and round in his brain till he felt giddy : 
and always they came back to the same point 
— was he gaining ground? He could not think 
so. Up to the present he had had a very strong 
hope, but now, after the events of the night, this 
hope lessened and lessened till it died almost 
entirely. Gra’s loss of consciousness had, to his 
practised eyes, looked too much like coma — 
he knew it was not a faint. Then how could he 
hope that he was gaining ground? Was there 
anything else he could do, he wondered. 

At last he made up his mind to write to Paris 
and put the whole case before his great professor. 

For an hour he was carefully composing the 
letter, and from the very beginning he left nothing 
out. He told the Frenchman the whole story, 
barring the fact that he was in love with Gra. 
He, of course, gave no names, and he asked for 
the reply to be sent to his bank in London. 
He enclosed the letter to a friend in London to 
post, then he sighed. He had done what he could 


52 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


— he must wait patiently, and see if his famous 
confrere could suggest anything. 

His heart ached with the misery of it all. He 
loved Gra with an abiding love that he knew 
would never alter. For six years it had not 
changed one iota, though there had been nothing 
to feed it. Only twice had his passion blazed 
up, only thrice had he taken her in his arms and 
kissed her. The second time had held no passion, 
merely deep love and overwhelming sympathy 
with her grief. He could only watch over her, 
and act just as any other friend might do. He 
could “but say what mere friends say/’ not even 
“ a thought stronger ; ” he did not dare to hold 
her hand “ so very little longer ” — it was too 
dangerous. In fact, he had got into the way 
of never shaking hands at all ; it was easy, as 
he was the ami intime of the house. But no 
amount of starving could kill his love ; it was 
there for all time, an integral part of his life. 
He would do nothing to hurt her — everything 
to help her. But could he help her ? Again 
his whirling thoughts came round to the same 
question. 

He must certainly tackle Brocklehurst — that he 
had decided ; but how could he actually prevent 
these deadly experiments ? He did not dare give 
a -sleeping-draught often to a man whose heart 
was in that condition, otherwise it would be easy. 
To hypnotize him was out of the question. There- 
fore there was no other plan but the one he had 
already adopted — unless he could frighten his 
patient into renouncing his designs. He did not 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


53 


believe he should succeed. Brocklehurst knew that 
any accident might kill him, and he wished to 
revenge himself — a post-mortem revenge that was 
horrible to contemplate. 

MacFarlane shivered. It was ghastly; and he 
was forced to be here, to look on at the horror, 
to do his utmost ; his utmost — what did it amount 
to ? Apparently he was kicking against the pricks, 
fighting the air, struggling with invisible demons. 
He was strong, strong physically and mentally, 
but was it of any use? He could but wait and 
see — wait with an aching, anxious heart. 

His man came into the room and interrupted 
his agonized musings, and he sent the message 
to the kitchen that the master was not to be dis- 
turbed. Then he dressed slowly, absent-mindedly, 
and went down to breakfast. 

He posted his letter himself, then he sat in the 
library and tried to read. He told the butler to 
send to him when Brocklehurst rang, and just after 
eleven the message came by a footman. 

He went upstairs and knocked at the door. 

“ May I come in ? ” 

“ One moment,” said Gra. “ Yes, you may come 
now.” 

She was sitting on a chair in her dressing-gown 
when he entered, and she smiled at him cheerfully. 

“ Aren’t we dreadfully late people, Mac ? ” 

u I gave orders you were not to be called,” he 
answered quietly as he went over to Brocklehurst. 
“ How do you feel this morning, Brock ? ” 

“A little tired, but otherwise quite fit, thanks. 
It was a nasty attack this time, Mac.” 


54 SHADOW-SHAPES 

The doctor felt his pulse, and listened to his 
heart. 

“Yes, it’s better this morning, old chap. We 
must have a talk this afternoon.” 

“May I get up?” Cuthbert asked, as he sipped 
his tea. 

“Yes — oh yes. Don’t exert yourself to-day, 
though. Just take a drive about six when it’s 
cooler. I should lie down a bit this afternoon if I 
were you.” 

“ Very well, I will. I feel wonderfully well, 
thanks to your ministrations. All my other bouts 
have left me much more of a wreck. I’m glad you 
came to me, Mac.” 

“ So am I. It was a good thing I was on the 
spot last night. Now, don’t hurry dressing, and 
don’t have your bath either too hot or too cold. 
Shall I order lunch at one for to-day? It’s now 
nearly half-past eleven, and you can’t crowd in 
breakfast, can you ? ” 

“Yes; a good idea. Will that suit you, Gra? 
Just ring, please, Mac; I’ll order some more toast, 
that will keep us going. Many thanks, old man, 
for your care. I’m glad to be alive ! ” 

In the afternoon, when Gra was out of the way, 
MacFarlane went to Brocklehurst in the library. 
His heart was beating rather fast, he felt tired out 
after his sleepless night, but he knew he must talk 
the matter out. He must try to put a stop to 
these terrible nights. He would not succeed, he 
felt sure of that, but he owed it to all three of them 
to do his best. 

“ I say, Brock, I don’t understand last night,” he 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


55 


said quietly, sitting down where he could see his 
companion’s face. 

“ How do you mean ? It was the same old 
thing, only rather worse.” 

MacFarlane lit a cigarette ; he nodded, puffed 
out the smoke lazily, then said : 

“ Yes. But all the other times were after some 
great exertion, physical or mental. What on earth 
did you do to get yourself in that state? You 
were all right in the evening. Did you lift anything 
and strain yourself?” 

Brocklehurst shook his head. 

“ Then did you sit up studying ? That is the 
worst thing for you. I’ve told you so often.” 

“ No ; I didn’t open a book.” 

He looked uneasy, and the doctor noticed it, and 
pressed him harder. 

“ Then you wrote, Brock. The same old habit 
you’ve had all your life. You must learn to cure 
yourself of it, old chap. Do what work you have 
to do in the day. You really must not work at 
night. You think your brain is clearer then — it 
may be, it certainly used to be — but I tell you in 
all seriousness that you must not do it. You 
require, above all, quiet nights. If you go to sleep 
with your brain fagged out it is bound to react on 
the heart and give you beans. I implore you not 
to exert yourself mentally. You know I had to for- 
bid hypnotism : I was sorry, because I know how 
it interests you — it would me if I could do it — but 
it’s awfully bad for you. By the way, I’ve for- 
gotten to ask you — you haven’t done it since I 
stopped it, have you ? ” 


56 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Brocklehurst got up and rummaged in a drawer 
for something he apparently could not find. 

“ My dear Mac/’ he said, with his head bent 
down over the papers, “ how fussy you are ! 
I’ve not even suggested it since you forbade 
it. IVe not asked Gra once. Ask her — she’ll 
tell you.” 

Mac noticed the clever way a lie was avoided, 
and bit his lip with fury. 

“ Ah well,” he said carelessly, lighting another 
cigarette, “ that’s not necessary ; you can do it with- 
out asking permission, you know. You hypnotized 
Mullen one night when he slept, do you remem- 
ber ? and didn’t you do the same once to Gra ? I 
think you told me so, or she did. I remember 
something about it vaguely.” 

Brocklehurst had suddenly become curiously still 
as the other began to speak, now he turned over 
the papers in the drawer hurriedly, making much 
noise of rustling and crackling. 

“Oh, that! That was ages ago.” He laughed 
rather loudly. “ I did it for an experiment, that’s 
all. Are you suggesting that I do that now? What 
for ? ” He ended irritably, and looked across at 
MacFarlane. 

The latter lifted his eyebrows and shrugged his 
shoulders, with a very good imitation of indiffer- 
ence. 

“ Certainly not. How could it enter my head 
that you’d be such a thundering fool ! I simply 
remarked that permission wasn’t necessary. That’s 
always struck me as so wonderful, but then of 
course I don’t know even the rudiments of the 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


57 


business. No, old man, I simply want to warn you 
again not to do it. I know it's damned hard when 
you were such a nailer at it, but for the present 
you must give it up. These lesions may heal — it’s 
not absolutely unknown — if you keep quiet, and 
then you’ll be able to do everything you want. 
But I was warning you not to forget that throwing 
out your whole will like that takes it out of you ; 
it’s a terrible effort, I know — I’ve often taken your 
pulse, you see, after your experiments. In your 
present state, if you try on any of your games, it 
might have disastrous results, and I don’t think it 
fair to me not to take absolute care of yourself, 
and obey me in everything.” 

Brocklehurst came away from the drawer, and 
flung himself back into his chair. 

u Keep your hair on ! ” he said, with rather over- 
done jocularity. “ I’m being quite a good little 
boy ! No, Mac ; I own I did work last night. It 
was wrong of me of course, but I had found out 
something new, and I had to work it out. I won’t 
do it again. Or if I do, not for a long time, then 
I won’t do it so strenuously. I give you my word 
of honour I won’t touch work for a week, anyway. 
Then I will do only a little. As for the hypnotic 
business you’re so bothered about — why, ask Gra ; 
she can tell you. I hope these beastly lesions will 
heal, that’s all, because I am losing all interest in 
life : I can’t do anything I used to.” 

“You’ve worked often at night?” asked Mac 
quietly. 

Brocklehurst laughed rather uncomfortably and 
fidgeted. 


58 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Pm awfully sorry.” He twirled a paper-knife 
round and round. “ Pm afraid I must confess that 
I have. You see, Mac, I always did love doing 
things at night.” 

“ You have given me your word not to do any 
more — at least for a week ? ” 

‘‘Yes, I swear it.” 

“You ought not to work at night at all, Brock.” 

“ I don’t think it will hurt me, really I don’t, if 
I take it easy. Look here. Give me once a week, 
old man, and I will content myself with that. 
What made me bad was that — well, the cat’s out 
of the bag now — I had been working night after 
night. Except the night before last, when I felt 
dead tired and gave it up, I have been at it for 
weeks.” 

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” cried 
the doctor indignantly. 

“Humph! Well, you will trust me now? I 
promise you to rest except once a week. I can’t 
give up everything, Mac, all at once. Pve been 
very good, considering.” 

“Very well. I trust you. You have never 
broken an oath yet that I know of. You will go 
for one week from to-day before you work 
again ? ” 

“ Yes ; I swear.” 

“ Then, after that, you will go six clear days ? ” 

“Yes ; on my honour.” 

“ All right.” 

MacFarlane heaved a sigh of relief. He had 
succeeded far better than he had hoped. He was 
bound to be content with the promise given. He 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


59 


knew it would be impossible to stop the plot 
altogether. Brocklehurst was not the man to give 
up what he had once set his heart on. That he 
would “ work,” as he called it, only once a week 
was a wonderful concession. Mac clenched his 
hands when he thought how sure the man must 
be of the success of his scheme when he was 
ready to give up six days a week. Ah ! of course 
that curious attack of Gra’s last night had con- 
firmed him in his belief that the work of weeks 
had succeeded. Yes, that was it. Now evidently 
he thought that it was necessary to re-suggest to 
Gra’s brain his commands only occasionally — just 
to keep it fixed in her mind, as it were. 

Mac felt more hopeful. Was not his will strong 
enough to undo the past? He would have six 
days to every one of Brocklehurst’s. That was 
enough, surely, to suck out the poison of these 
last weeks? 

This afternoon he could do nothing, he was far 
too tired ; but to-morrow he would begin, and he 
would throw all his soul into the work. He 
doubted whether he had been strong enough the 
last few days — the fight of wills in the nights had 
been so exhausting. But now he would be able 
to rest, and his will must be stronger for the day 
seance. He knew that he could trust Brocklehurst. 
Before, he had never given his word ; he had crawled 
out of the difficulty by subterfuges, saying that he 
promised never again to ask any one to be hypno- 
tized. The doctor had seen the difficulty at the 
time, but did not realize what a pass it would get 
to. He was forced to be content with the 


60 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


present compromise. His unuttered prayer, night 
and day, now was “ O God, may my extra time 
prove stronger than his greater power. May his 
suggestions weaken and mine strengthen. Help 
me!” 


CHAPTER VI 



RA was in a fever of excitement as she drove 


VJ to the station to meet her mother, sister, 
and brother-in-law. She had not seen Fai for 
three long years, and her heart was hungering 
for the sight of her. 

As the train appeared round the distant curve 
she clutched Cuthbert’s hand. 

“ Oh, Cuth, I’m bursting !” she cried. 

Cuthbert pressed her hand tenderly. 

“My darling! You are looking perfectly 
glorious/’ he exclaimed. “ I shall be jealous of 
Fai soon ! ” 

But Gra could not hear. She had caught sight 
of a head at one of the windows, and she took a 
little run along the platform. 

Out of the door tumbled Fai, almost before the 
train had stopped, and the twins were locked in 
each other’s arms. They were both utterly un- 
conscious of strangers looking on ; the Irish are 
as unself-conscious as the French — what did it 
matter to them ? They had not kissed for three 
years ! 

Their mother stood beside them, waiting for her 
turn to greet her daughter. Tears of tenderness 


61 


62 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


were in her eyes, which she blinked away quickly. 
Captain Barnes twirled his moustache and looked 
amused. 

“ Why, Fai, you’re fatter ! You lamb ! You do, 
do look well.” 

She held her sister at arm’s length, her face was 
dimpling all over with smiles. Then she caught 
sight of her mother. 

“ Oh, Ladyship, I’m so sorry. How are you ? ” 

She kissed her mother and shook hands heartily 
with her brother-in-law. The train moved out of 
the station. 

Gra linked her arm in Fai’s as they moved down 
the platform. 

“ Have you brought a motor, Cuthbert ? ” asked 
Lady Ethersbury. 

“ Yes — the Mercedes ; there’s plenty of room for 
us all. There’s a bus for the maids and lug- 
gage.” 

“ Bill, will you see that everything is put on the 
bus ? ” cried the lady anxiously. “ And please be 
careful of my tools.” 

“ Your tools ? ” exclaimed Gra. “ What tools ? ” 

Her mother stood by the motor, watching the 
boxes as they were brought out by the men. 

“ Oh, I didn’t tell you, dear ? I’ve taken up 

That’s it, Bill. Tell him to put it inside, please, 
and not to bump it. Eh ? Oh, wood-carving, 
Gra. You’ve no idea how interesting it is. I 
want you to give me a wee room as a workshop — 
some place where I can make a mess without 
worrying. I shall enjoy myself here, there are 
such lovely bits to copy. That door to the west 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


terrace, for instance, there is a perfect bit of sur- 
face — eh ? All in ? Very well.” 

They packed themselves into the huge motor, 
and it moved off. 

Gra and Fai sat side by side, holding hands. 
Bill Barnes suddenly exploded with laughter. 

“ What is it ? ” asked his wife. 

“You two. You’re just like two kids!” 

Gra got pink. 

“Well, why not? We shall be old soon 
enough. I’m not going to pretend to be stiff, 
and Englishy, and undemonstrative, to please 
any one.” 

“ That’s right, dear,” smiled Brocklehurst ; 
“ don’t be bullied. Bill’s only green with envy ; 
don’t take any notice of him.” 

“ I shan’t ! Fai, I feel as if we must talk for 
three months without stopping ! Oh, I’ve such 
piles and piles of things to tell you, and to hear.” 

Fai slipped her arm round her sister’s waist and 
squeezed it. 

“I ant so glad to be here,” she whispered. 
“ India is jolly, and Bill’s an angel of light, but 
I do miss you horribly sometimes.” 

Bill began to chaff again, but his mother-in-law 
pulled his arm. 

“ Oh, leave them alone,” she laughed ; “ it’s no 
good. They were always rolled up in each other’s 
arms as children — we’re quite used to it. Why on 
earth I had twins I can’t imagine — it’s not in the 
family. Pat didn’t come for five years, you know, 
and I was in such a fright it was going to be 
twins again.” 


64 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ How is Pat ? ” asked Cuthbert ; “ we haven’t 
had a letter for a fortnight.” 

“ I’ve had four telegrams — in answer to mine, 
to which I prepaid the replies ! He’s in Paris, 
or was. Pat is one of those people who look upon 
Paris as the Continental Clapham Junction — 
change here for everywhere ! Let’s see — yes, here 
is his last ; it came two days ago.” 

She produced a crumpled telegram from her 
bag and handed it to Brocklehurst. He grinned 
as he glanced over it, then he laughed outright. 

“ Surely you didn’t prepay all this ? ” 

“ Oh no. I paid for two francs’ worth, I think.” 

“ Um — this is about eleven ! Why on earth 
can’t he write a letter ? ” 

“ I don’t know. He seldom does. At Oxford, 
of course, he’s too busy, but I think he might 
when he’s abroad. What’s he say? I forget.” 

Cuthbert read out slowly : 

“ ‘ Dear old mater. Got your wire, am all 
right. Going on to Switzerland. Paris beastly 
in August poodle,” — he stopped and frowned. 
“ What does he mean ? Oh, I see ; I wish they’d 
put stops in telegrams. Now I’ve got it. 1 Paris 
beastly in August. Poodle bought, prize pedigree. 
Can you get old Renfrew to pass him into Eng- 
land without that rotten quarantine ? Left my 
strop behind, will you send, French ones beastly. 
Grimshaw sprained wrist. I’m quite fit. Pat.’ 
Humph ! For sheer madness commend me to my 
dear brother-in-law ! ” 

Gra had been bending forward to listen, and 
she laughed. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


65 


“ Dear old Pat!” she cried. “He always did 
love telegrams. I’ve got one somewhere that I 
kept as a curiosity. We have never been able to 
make it out, and when he saw it he couldn’t 
explain it either. He had a sudden fit of economy 
and dropped all the pronouns, and several verbs ; 
it was something about a boat-race, and having 
broken a scull. As he spelt it with a k, we were 
in an awful fright, and sent a wild telegram back 
asking how he was.” 

“ Skull can be spelt either way,” said Brockle- 
hurst. 

“ Oh, I know. Silly language. But scull can’t.” 

“ Oh, don’t !” exclaimed Captain Barnes. “ Skull 
can, and scull can’t — it’s enough to make one’s 
brain reel ! How are you, Brocklehurst ? The 
letters before we left India frightened us. You 
look quite fit.” 

Brocklehurst fidgeted ; like most Englishmen, he 
disliked talking about his health. 

“ Oh, it’s all right. That is, it’s horrid. I have 
to be careful of everything — not allowed to ride 
even. Shan’t be allowed to shoot. Hateful. I’m 
ordered about like a child, and fussed over, and 
made to take medicines and things. I shall get 
all right, you see if I don’t ! ” 

“ Lady Ethersbury tells us that Dr. MacFarlane 
is with you.” 

“Yes. I thought it wiser to have some one 
always on the spot, in case of emergency. It’s a 
good thing he’s there ; he’s really jolly clever, you 
know. He pulled me out of a nasty attack last 
week, and I feel splendid now.” 

5 


66 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ How on earth did you persuade him to come ? 
He was doing awfully well in town, wasn’t he ? ” 

“ Oh, he’s very fond of us, you see, and I’ve made 
it worth his while. I have great confidence in him. 
Here we are. You’ll be glad of your tea, Ladyship, 
won’t you ? ” 

Lady Ethersbury’s sons-in-law sometimes called 
her by the pet name used by her daughters. When 
the twins were tiny children they never addressed 
her in any other manner ; hearing “ her ladyship ” 
so often in the mouths of the servants, they came 
to the conclusion that it was her name, and adopted 
it — no amount of correction could break them of it. 
And now they only called her “ mother ” when they 
were very serious about anything. 

After tea Fai drew MacFarlane to a window 
alcove. 

“ You don’t look well, Mac,” she said anxiously ; 
“ what is it ? Are you worrying about Cuthbert ? 
How is he ? I want you to tell me all about it.” 

“ He’s just the same. We have to be very care- 
ful, you know. Oh, I’m all right! I had influenza 
rather badly three weeks ago, and it left me some- 
what pulled down, but I’m quite fit now. It’s rather 
a responsibility looking after Brock ; one has to be 
awfully firm. You see he’s always been so active, 
and one has to nag and nag to get him to take 
reasonable care.” 

Fai puckered her brow. 

“ Yes,” she said slowly, “ I can imagine it must 
be hard work. The last letter I got from Gra 
made me wretched, she seemed so bothered about 
him.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


67 


“ She’s better now ; I hope I have taken a little 
of the weight off* her shoulders. He does what I 
tell him, more or less, though I have to argue 
about every little thing. He can’t see that working 
too hard is just as bad for him as physical exertion. 
However, I’ve screwed a promise out of him at last, 
and I am easier in my mind.” 

“ You’re an angel, Mac, to give up your practice 
to come here.” 

He fidgeted with the tassel of the blind. 

“ Oh, nonsense ! Brock and I have been pals for 
nearly twenty years, and he seemed to have set 
his heart upon it.” 

“ But surely any careful, fairly experienced doctor 
would have done. I don’t mean to disparage your 
superior knowledge — you know that. But it seems, 
from what Gra told me, that only ordinary care 
and skill are necessary ; isn’t that so ? ” 

“ So I thought at first. But 1 see now that 
more than that is needed.” A curious, bitter smile 
came to his mouth as he spoke, then he continued 
carefully : “ I see that a very strong will is wanted 
to cope with Brock — he’s fearfully obstinate, you 
know. Also, for some reason or other, he has con- 
fidence in me. No — I feel sure now that no other 
man could have managed him.” 

Fai held out her hand impulsively. 

“ You’re a good sort, Mac. Anyway, I thank 
you from my heart for what you are doing. I feel 
in my bones that you are doing more than any of 
us know.” 

He started as he held the soft hand, then he 
laughed, and shrugged his shoulders. 


68 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


" You can rely on me to do all I can,” he said 
lightly ; then he turned the subject. 

He did not wish Fai to get an inkling of what 
was going on, and he knew that he must be very 
careful, as she had an extraordinary amount of 
sensitiveness where Gra was concerned. The 
rapport between the twins was remarkable ; over 
and over again each one had known what was 
happening to the other when miles of land or sea 
separated them. 

When Gra’s baby had died, after only twelve 
hours’ illness, MacFarlane had seen how wonderful 
this telepathy was. Four hours after Wee Willie 
Winkie had breathed his last little gasping breath, 
Fai had arrived in London from Scotland. She 
had travelled right through without stopping, and 
he was in the hall when the footman opened the 
door to her. 

She came straight across to him, her face was 
white and strained. 

“ What is it?” she gasped, laying her hand on his 
arm. “ Something has happened to Gra. I knew 
it ; I’ve come straight through.” 

He did not want anything of that kind to happen 
now — it could do no good, and it would drive Fai 
nearly mad with terror and anxiety. 

Two nights after her arrival it was brought home 
to him what a hard task he had before him if he 
was to keep her in ignorance. 

The week was up, and it was the night Brockle- 
hurst was to “ work.” 

At midnight MacFarlane installed himself in 
the dressing-room and watched, and fought. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


69 


When Cuthbert was about to go back to bed the 
watcher closed the door quietly, crept across the 
room, opened the door into the passage, and — 
saw Fai in dressing-gown and slippers, bending by 
the bedroom door with her ear to the keyhole. 

They both started violently, and he put his finger 
to his mouth with a faint “ hush,” in an agony in 
case she cried out. 

She came swiftly towards him. 

“ What is it ? ” she whispered. “ I knew some- 
thing was wrong. Is he ill ? ” 

He took her arm and drew her along the passage, 
turning out the light as he passed it. 

“ We mustn’t speak here, he might hear us.” 

He drew her into a spare room, and turned up 
the light. Then he sank into a chair. He was 
exhausted, as he always was after one of these 
secret excursions. 

“ Quick ! ” cried Fai, her hand on her heart. 
“ Was he ill?” 

He shook his head wearily. 

“ No ; I was only watching in case he overworked 
I often do. I’ve bored a hole in the in-between 
door, and I can see. For God’s sake, Fai, don’t 
let him know ! It would undo everything.” 

“ Overwork ? ” she repeated dazedly. 

“Yes.” He spoke very quietly and distinctly. 
“You see I can’t stop him altogether. I have 
tried my best, but it’s impossible. He always did 
work at night — all his articles have been written at 
night — he says his brain is clearer then. I caught 
him at it ten days ago, and I did not dare disturb 
him for fear of the fright — so I watched. Then 


70 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


last week he had that bad attack, and I got it out 
of him — he confessed that he’d been working. 
With some difficulty I managed to make him 
promise not to work more than once a week. To- 
night the week was up, so I went down to watch.” 

Fai went across to him and laid her finger on 
his forehead, then she felt his neck-band. 

“ Mac, you are soaking ! ” she exclaimed. “ What 
have you been doing ? Don’t tell me that it’s only 
watching. You are a strong man ; that wouldn’t 
make you in this state. Tell me.” 

He thought a moment, then he looked up, and 
spoke with apparent openness : 

“Well, Fai, I’ll tell you, but you must swear on 
your solemn word of honour to tell no one. No 
one, mind, not even Gra or Bill.” 

“ I give you my word, Mac — I swear.” 

“Well, before I came here I went to Paris and 
went through a course of lessons in hypnotism. I 
believe in it firmly, and I think suggestion can 
often do good when everything else fails. I am 
trying it on — Brock. When he is working I try 
to counteract the harm it may do. I give out my 
strength, you see — I have a lot of superfluous 
strength — and I am trusting it may do good. I 
can't make him give up work, so this is all that 
I can do.” 

Fai walked to the window, pulled the blind on 
one side, and stared out at the dark still night. 
The tears were running down her face. When 
she spoke her voice was low and broken : 

“ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man 
lay down his life for his friends.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


71 


He laughed a little huskily. 

“ Nonsense, Fai ! There’s no question of life. 
It only takes it out of me a little. You see it is new 
for me, I’m not used to it ; I probably give out 
far more than I need. I shall get more expert as 
I go on. Even now it’s not nearly so exhausting 
as the first time I tried it — ten days ago.” 

“ How is it,” asked Fai, “ that he had that attack 
last week ? Weren’t you there that night?” 

Then MacFarlane had to lie again. 

“ Yes,” he said ; “ I had been there watching till 
two o’clock. He has never before started after 
that, and he was sleeping quietly. I thought it 
was safe, so left, and went up to bed. An hour 
after that Gra rang for me, and I found him un- 
conscious. He must have mistaken the time and 
begun work after I’d gone ; his vitality is very low 
then, and I was not there to help, so it exhausted 
him. I shall never forgive myself.” 

“Nonsense! You’ve done more than any one 
in the world would do.” 

“ Now it is easier, you see. He has given me 
his oath to work only once a week, and he has 
never broken an oath. So I know where I am. 
I shall just go down on Wednesdays, and if he 
does not work that night, I shall watch the next, 
and so on.” 

She nodded. Then she caught hold of his arm. 

“ Can’t I help, Mac ? I am very strong, and 
can do without much sleep. I could watch for 
you, then if he started work I could fly up and call 
you. Do let me. I should like to do something.” 

" My dear girl, no ! I am quite capable of 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


1 % 

doing it. It’s only once a week now. If it had 
been every night I might have accepted your 
help.” He smiled to himself. 

“ But,” argued Fai, “ I should like to do it. I 
should feel I was helping just a little.” 

He frowned. How was he to get out of this 
quandary? Then a brilliant idea struck him, and 
he spoke quickly: 

“ There is one thing you have forgotten that 
makes it utterly impossible, Fai. You know that 
there is such an extraordinary telepathy between 
you and Gra that the very fact of your being 
there, close by her, would be bound to wake her. 
She would come to the door ; then — the fat would 
be in the fire ! ” 

“ Um — goodness! Yes. I had forgotten that. 
What a nuisance! Qh yes, you’re right, it would 
never do. I might knock over something in 
scrambling away in the dark. I am sorry ; I should 
have loved to help you.” 

He looked relieved. 

“Yes, I know. But there is really very little 
to do now. I can easily stand once a week.” 

He shivered violently as he spoke, and Fai 
cried out. 

“ Oh, what a brute I am ! ” she exclaimed. 
“ Here I am talking of helping you and I can’t 
even see that you’re catching your death of cold. 
Selfish beast ! Go up at once, Mac, and take 
brandy and things. Go ! ” 

He got up stiffly. 

“ All right; don’t worry. I always have a hot 
bath after these stances, and that makes me quite 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


73 


fit again. Good night — or good morning rather. 
Mind, you have sworn not to tell my secret to a 
living soul. And, Fai, don’t think about it when 
Brock is present ; he’s got an uncanny habit of 
reading thoughts sometimes.” 

“ Very well. Now do hurry. And, Mac, I 
shall love you all my life for your angelic good- 
ness,” she ended, her voice trembling with emotion. 

“ Don’t be absurd ! That is the exaggerated 
sentiment of the hour — to-morrow you’ll see that 
I am doing nothing out of the way. After all 
I am paid for being the doctor of the house, and 
it is only my duty. Good night, run off to bed.” 

They parted in the passage, and MacFarlane 
went thoughtfully back to his own rooms. 

“ I think it’s all right,” he muttered, as he 
prepared the bath. “ It was rather a shock to find 
her there, but I fancy she believes me. That’s the 
best of a lie that’s partly the truth ! How I hated 
lying, though ! Well, it can’t be helped ; she must 
be kept in ignorance. Brock would find out, to 
a dead certainty, if she knew it.” 

The stable clock struck three. 


CHAPTER VII 


W ANE’S FERRY cheered up with the in- 
fusion of new blood. Gra gave various 
entertainments, and sent out invitations for a large 
garden party for the first of August. She got 
back her old gaiety, and MacFarlane, as he watched 
her, rejoiced that these people had come. She had 
been getting too dismal, she needed waking up. He 
conspired with Fai to egg on her sister, suggesting 
that they should have more guests in the house. 
Gra, when this was mooted, acquiesced cheerfully, 
and consulted with Fai as to whom she should ask. 
In the old days she had liked a houseful ; it was 
only the terrible anxiety hanging over her head 
that had lately made her feel as if she could never 
be gay again. Fai had been horrified at her sister’s 
grave face. Two days after her arrival she had 
scolded. 

" Gra, dear, you have changed so much. You 
are so fearfully grown-up now.” 

Gra smiled feebly. 

" Of course I am,” she answered, with a little 
sigh. “ Wouldn’t you be grown-up if you had 
all this to think of? ” 

“ I know it’s awful — but you really ought to try 
74 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


75 


and put it away from you, and not think of it. 
Thinking can’t make it any better, and I’m sure it 
must worry Cuth if he sees you looking miserable. 
He ought to be thoroughly cheered and kept 
amused. We all feel how horrible the whole thing 
is, but it doesn’t help matters if we go about with 
long faces ! ” 

“ I haven’t a long face,” said Gra wearily. 

“ Well, you’re not exactly gay ! You never open 
the piano now, I hear — I asked Mac — and you 
hardly ever ride.” 

“ Of course I don’t. Cuth is forbidden to ride, 
and I always did hate going out with only a 
groom. Mac or I must always be in the house, 
so he can’t come with me.” 

“ Why don’t you ask Sir Wilfred ? You used 
often to go out with him. He’s down here now, 
isn’t he?” 

“ Yes, but ” 

“ Why ‘ but ’ ? Is anything the matter ? ” 

“ Urn— m.” 

“ What?” 

“ Well, he — oh, Fai, I can’t go out alone with him 
any more ” 

“ Oh, it’s come, has it ! ” was Fai’s only reply. 

“ You knew ? ” 

“ Of course I did. Any one with eyes in her 
head could see he was in love with you. But 
when I left he’d stood it for a year or so, and 
I thought he never would say anything. He’s 
one of those highly virtuous young men who 
thinks that ‘to look on a woman to,’ etc., etc., 
and I felt sure he would ‘ hide his broken heart, 


76 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


and wear a smiling face/ and do all the other 
correct things ! ” 

“ How cruel you are, Fai ! I hate you bringing 
cheap cynicism to bear on poor Wilfred. He is 
good. He may be a tiny weeny bit grown-up, but 
he’s really a good sort. He would never have 
said anything only there was an accident. Oh 
Fai ! it was quite like the Famity Herald ! ” 

Gra’s sense of humour was never very far from 
the surface, and now she chuckled hopefully. 

Fai drew her chair nearer. 

“ Do tell me ! ” 

“ Well, it’s mean, but it’s only you, and you 
never tell things. I was riding Gnome, and he 
ran away with me — this was last autumn. Wilfred 
came tearing after in quite the approved manner. 
We were on the downs, and Gnome seemed to 
thoroughly enjoy it. I don’t believe he’d been 
frightened at all — it was sheer exuberance of spirit, 
he thought he’d be wicked for the fun of the thing ! 
I gave him his head, sat tight, and spoke soothingly 
to him — or as soothingly as I could when the 
words were jerked out of my mouth by an animal 
going about thirty miles an hour. I wasn’t a bit 
frightened, but Wilfred was. He yelled instructions 
from behind, some of which I heard, some were 
lost in the sound of the galloping hoofs. (Aren’t I 
telling this nicely ? quite literary.) Then Wilfred 
cut off a corner, as it were, and came across close 
by Gnome’s head. Poor Gnome, who was only en- 
joying himself up till then, had a violent attack of 
nerves, swerved all over the place, caught his foot 
in a hole, and came down wallop ! (Oh, I don’t 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


77 


think ‘ wallop ’ is good at all ! ‘ Came down with a 

ghastly thud ’ would be better !) I took my foot 
out of the stirrup as it happened, and rolled clear. 
As I fell I heard a blood-stained cry from Wilfred. 
I suppose it stunned me a little, because I 
awakened to the fact that he was hugging me with 
wild incoherence, calling himself a brute {with 
adjectives), and kissing my left ear and the brim 
of my hat alternately ! ” 

Fai was laughing helplessly. 

“ Well ? ” 

“ Oh, well, I sat up, and pretended not to notice 
that there were tears in his eyes, and that he was 
calling me darling, and so on. I started to talk 
in a high commonplace voice, said I wasn’t hurt — 
and altogether behaved quite properly ! But I 
won’t go out alone with him again, there might be 
another accident, and he might become too senti- 
mental to ignore ! Poor dear, I’m very sorry for 
him, though I can’t help laughing.” 

“Never mind, it will do him good. He needed 
waking up.” 

A footman opened the door and came up to 
Gra. 

“ Yes ? ” she inquired. 

“ Please, mum, her ladyship has asked for a 
ladder.” 

“ Eh?” 

“ A ladder, mum. She says she wants it placed 
by the door to the west terrace ; she is going to 
copy the carving, mum. Rivers told me to ask you, 
mum, if I’d better not give her ladyship these library 
steps ; he thinks as how it might be safer, mum, 


78 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


as they’ve padded feet, and they can’t slide, and — 
and — they’ve got a broader top like.” 

Fai burst into a wild shriek of laughter. Gra 
tried to keep a grave face, but one look at the 
unnaturally severe mouth of the footman broke 
down her resolution, and it was with a wide grin 
that she told him to take the steps, and watched 
him carry them away. As the door shut, she 
buried her face in a cushion and gasped. 

“Oh!” cried Fai, wiping her eyes, “oh, Gra! 
‘ they’ve got a broader top like ’ — oh dear, oh 
dear!” 

They were like two children, gurgling and shak- 
ing with laughter. 

Presently Fai got up. 

“Quick, Gra, come along. We must go and 
see the installation. We can hide by the armoury 
— quick ! ” 

Hand in hand they sped from the library, and 
wended their way cautiously to the west corridor. 
Here they crept along quietly till they stood hidden 
in the deep doorway leading to the old armoury, 
whence they peeped, trusting to the dark shadow 
to hide them. 

Lady Ethersbury was standing there, covered 
from shoulders to feet in a holland overall. Clem- 
son, her maid, was holding a drawing-board and 
pencils. Rivers, the sedate butler, was gazing with 
troubled brow, first at the rotund figure of his 
mistress’s mother, then at the library steps which 
the footman was placing close against the door, 
directed by the would-be artist’s pointing finger. 

“ Wait a moment, Darton,” cried Rivers suddenly. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 79 

“ I’d better lock the door first, your ladyship — it 
opens inwards.” 

Gra and Fai covered their mouths, and clung to 
each other in an ecstasy of amusement. 

Just then they heard footsteps in the corridor 
behind them, and peeped, to find Cuthbert bearing 
down upon them. They both pantomimed wildly 
to him for silence, and he joined them on tiptoe. 

Gra drew down his head and whispered, and he 
grinned. 

“ They came for the library steps, Cuth,” added 
Fai in his other ear ; “ Rivers thought as how 
they’ve got a broader top like ! ” 

Gra put her hand over his mouth as it opened, 
and smothered the laugh. Then the three con- 
spirators peered forth again, to find her ladyship 
being helped up the steps by Rivers’s respectful 
hand. 

“ That’s all right,” she said, a little out of breath. 
“ Now, Rivers, if you will kindly hold me firmly 
while I turn. No; I think you’d better put your 
arm round my — er — dress.” 

Rivers solemnly clutched her ladyship’s knees. 

“ How I’d love to be in the housekeeper’s room 
at lunch-time ! ” whispered Fai. 

The artist turned slowly and carefully, then 
sat herself on the top of the steps with a little 
bang. 

“ There ! ” she cried triumphantly, " now it’s all 
safe. Hand me the board, Clemson ; yes, and the 
pencils and rubber. Oh, have you forgotten the 
measure and compasses ? No ? Where are they, 
then ? Oh, so I have — I didn’t see. Thank you, 


80 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Rivers, I am quite comfortable now. It was a good 
idea of yours to get these steps. No, thanks, I 
shan’t want anything else. Clemson, you had 
better wait within call ; I don’t fancy I could 
manage to get down alone. You can get a 
book and sit in the window-seat over there.” 

Clemson, who had been with her mistress for 
twenty years, usually had a very stern and very 
pale face. As she turned away now the three 
watchers could see that it was sterner than ever, 
but of a most unusual colour ; in fact, as Gra re- 
marked, she looked apoplectic. 

“ It must be a dormant sense of humour which 
we never suspected,” whispered Cuthbert. “ I’m 
much obliged to you girls for letting me into 
this ; I haven’t been so amused for months ! ” 

Lady Ethersbury had the drawing-board prised 
between her knees and the overdoor, and was meas- 
uring busily, with her eyes screwed up and her 
tongue between her teeth like an anxious child. 

" Isn’t she too sweet for words ? ” said Gra. 
“ Let’s go and talk to her.” 

“ All right; but we must come along the corridor 
so that she can hear. We mustn’t startle her, or 
she might fall ! ” 

“ Go away ! I’m busy,” cried their mother as she 
heard them coming. 

“ We only came to see if you were comfy, Lady- 
ship,” said Gra. 

“ I’m as comfortable as I can be on these steps,” 
laughed she. “ It’s not exactly an easy chair ! 
However, it’s worth it. This will make a wonder- 
ful study. I don’t quite know how I’m going to 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


81 


reproduce the worn effect, but we’ll see when I get 
to work on the carving.” 

“ Wouldn’t you like a cushion to sit on ? ” 

“ My dear Cuthbert, you are very kind to think 
of it ; I wish I had before I sat down. Now I fear 
it is impossible ; I’m fixed. Now do go away, all 
of you. Clemson is going to stay near me. I am 
busy and can’t talk. You may think this is only 
a fad, but it isn’t ; I am taking it up seriously, and 
am deeply interested in it. I only wish that I had 
taken it up years ago — it would have filled my life 
with enjoyment I could always draw, you know, 
so that part is not difficult. As for the carving, my 
master says I am very clever at it. Now do go. 
Good-bye ! ” 

Gra linked her arm in her husband’s, and led him 
and her sister to the rose-garden. 

“ Isn’t she perfectly delicious ! ” cried Cuthbert. 
“This is about the twentieth fad she’s had since 
I knew her.” 

“ Let’s count,” said Fai, sinking lazily into a 
wicker chair. “ First, when we were born, 
religion ; then Ibsen ; then Greek vases.” 

“No,” interrupted Gra; “the microscope came 
before Greek vases.” 

“ So it did ! Then came history, botany, 
preserve-making, High Art (capital letters of 
course !), languages — oh, and hundreds of others ; 
I can’t remember their order ! Then, during the 
South African War the whole house was filled 
with bandages, and she went through the ambulance 
class. I fancy she was thinking of going out as a 
nurse, but luckily those awful bead necklaces 
6 


82 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


became the rage, and her whole time was occupied 
in sending to Venice and Cairo and places for 
beads, and threading them when they came. We 
all went about as kind of Maud Allens.” 

“ My dear Fai ! ” 

“ Well, a little more drapery of course, but we 
were positively overweighted with beads. Oh, 
she’s delightful ! The beauty of it is that she 
never keeps it up long enough for one to get bored 
with it, and there’s a charming excitement of 
uncertainty always as to what the next thing will 
be. It may be an expedition to the North Pole, 
or making artificial flowers. A month ago it was 
breeding dogs : poor Pat was sent all over the 
country to find prize pedigree animals. Then she 
saw Mrs. Granton’s wood-carving, Clemson tells 
me, and started feverishly on lessons with a greasy 
little Italian with a squint.” 

“ What are you all talking about ? ” asked Mac- 
Farlane as he sauntered towards them : “you look 
very amused.” 

Fai explained, and made him laugh over the 
“broader top like.” Then the four wandered off 
to the copse to enjoy the beautiful green coolness 
of its shade. 

Gra and MacFarlane walked in front, and Fai 
chattered to her brother-in-law. 

“ Isn’t this perfect ? ” she cried as they entered 
the wood, putting up her face and sniffing. “ Such 
a glorious fresh-earthy smell. Don’t you love it ? ” 

He did not answer, and she glanced up at him, 
to find a face white and hard, and eyes staring 
straight before him. She followed the direction of 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


83 


his gaze and saw MacFarlane bending and dis- 
entangling a bramble from Gra’s dress. She was 
looking down at his fair head with a curiously 
sad expression, then the bramble evidently caught 
her heel, and she steadied herself by putting a 
hand on his shoulder. He flinched visibly, and 
Gra withdrew her hand quickly. That was all, 
and if it had not been for the stern face by her 
side Fai would not have remarked anything 
unusual. Now she bit her lips and thought. 

Was Cuthbert jealous ? If so, why had he asked 
MacFarlane to live with them ? Was MacFarlane 
in love with Gra ? That sudden movement as her 
hand touched him certainly looked like it, and 
Gra’s face had worn a queer look as she watched 
him. What was the meaning of it all? Surely 
Cuthbert would not have asked his friend to come 
here if he had suspected anything — yet why had 
he looked like that ? Perhaps it was only lately 
that MacFarlane had — yet no, it was not likely 
that a man who had known Gra for over six years 
would suddenly alter his feelings like that. No ; if 
he loved her it must have been so for years. Then 
why had Cuthbert not known it before ? She 
knew how clever he was at reading people — he 
had told her about Bill before she knew it herself. 
Then — well, she must think it out in peace ; she 
could not think now, with that man walking by 
her side seething with an internal tempest. She 
could feel that all was not well ; his thoughts 
seemed to disturb the atmosphere. She felt un- 
comfortable ; the same thrill was in her nerves as 
was there before a storm. 


84 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


She tried to talk, and with a great effort of will 
she shook her troubled thoughts from her mind. 
He must not know that she had seen anything ; 
no, he must never know. In the meanwhile she 
would watch : she did not like that expression his 
face had borne — it looked too much like a threat. 

She gave a little shiver, and plunged into wild 
hilarity, hoping he would not see that it was 
forced 


CHAPTER VIII 

MONGST the visitors who now came to stay 



at Wane’s Ferry was Captain Barnes’s 
youngest sister, a girl of eighteen, exceedingly 
pretty in a fair fluffy way, tall and “ willowy ” 
(this was a word she used herself), and very 
sentimental. 

People who did not know her well were apt to 
declare that she was affected, but, as a matter 
of fact, her sentiment was perfectly natural. Her 
favourite reading was books of knight-errantry, and 
poetry — Tennyson standing easily first. She was 
intensely good-natured, and nothing she liked 
better than to do little things for those around 
her. 

She was bitterly disappointed when she found 
that she could do nothing for her host. She had 
been told about his state of health, and on her 
way down to Wane’s she had glowed in anticipa- 
tion of the work before her. She would bring 
in his beef-tea herself — all invalids had beef-tea — 
she would make him delightful jellies, and thrill 
when she saw him eating them. There was no end 
to her little plans for easing him. 

And lo ! the supposed invalid was a huge, 


85 


86 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


apparently robust man, who ate nearly as every one 
else did, and who never thought of beef-tea or 
jelly. It was a cruel blow ! 

Fai, who understood her sister-in-law fairly well, 
knew what was passing in her mind, and in a 
spirit of mischief gave her a hero to worship. 
She chose somewhat grandiloquent language, and 
told the girl that MacFarlane had given up his 
career to come and live with his friend and try to 
save his life. 

This was quite enough for Norah. If MacFarlane 
had been small and plain she would have still seen 
the knight beneath the rugged exterior ; but as he 
was good-looking, with a splendid, athletic figure, 
she promptly fell into an ecstatic state of silent 
worship. When he spoke to her she blushed, 
when he shook hands she thrilled. One day he 
cut a white rose-bud and gave it to her as she 
happened to be walking by his side. She wore 
it (having first removed the thorns) next her 
heart for two days, then pressed it in her Tenny- 
son, between the leaves of the “ Morte d’Arthur.” 

Soon every one in the house became aware of 
the comedy being enacted under their eyes — 
every one, that is to say, but the gentleman in 
question. 

MacFarlane’s whole soul was bound up in one 
woman, and though he was polite, and laughed 
and talked with others, he was almost unconscious 
as to whether they were pretty or plain, young 
or old. Now and then, quite suddenly, he would 
seem to realize the personal appearance of some 
one, and would make illuminating remarks on the 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


87 


subject to Gra, Fai, or Cuthbert, much to their 
amusement — amusement somewhat sardonic on 
Brocklehurst’s part 

One day he was sitting with Fai, Gra, and her 
husband on the west terrace. Most of the guests 
were playing tennis in the courts far away on 
the south-east side of the gardens ; now and then 
their cries could be heard, softened by distance. 
On the stretch of turf in front of the terrace 
Norah Barnes was playing Jeu de Graces with 
a youth from Oxford, a friend of Pat Ethersbury’s. 
This person was convinced of his own immense 
importance, and considered Jeu de Graces a 
“rotten” game; but he was flattered when Norah 
asked him to play, and acquiesced. He thought 
he was very much in love with her. Norah loved 
the game because it was romantic and graceful, 
and — principally — because it had been played in 
those dear old days when men wore satin coats and 
lace ruffles. 

She was fairly expert, and tossed the rings high 
in the air with swift movements of the sticks. 
She always caught the return ring, but young 
Lorrimer, her partner, missed many, and had to 
run about to retrieve them. 

MacFarlane, with the others on the terrace, was 
watching the game, and presently he seemed to 
become aware of Norah’s personality. 

“ She’s very pretty, isn’t she ? ” he remarked, 
leaning forward the better to see the flight of one 
of Norah’s highest casts. 

“Yes, we think so,” answered Fai ; “she’s very 
much admired.” 


88 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ She’s exactly like a Greuze,” he exclaimed 
enthusiastically. 

A slow colour mounted to Gra’s face, and she 
turned away her head quickly, but not before 
her husband had noted the flash in her eyes. A 
smile flickered quickly over his mouth, and an 
expression of almost devilish cunning lightened his 
eyes. 

“ You’re quite right, Mac,” he said slowly, “ she 
is exactly like a Greuze. That halo of fluffy hair, 
and the little pointed chin, and the big eyes, 
half mischief, half melancholy, the wistful droop 
to the mouth. It’s that Greuze in the Louvre, 
isn’t it ? ” 

“Yes; one of my favourite pictures!” Mac- 
Farlane was quite animated. “ I’d no idea she 
was so lovely; and that game shows her off sd 
well.” 

“ That is why she plays it ! ” 

Fai glanced quickly at Gra ; it was not like her 
sister to make a spiteful speech like that. Her 
suspicions of the week before came back to her 
mind, and she half closed her eyes and watched. 
She saw Gra’s heightened colour, and Cuthbert’s 
sardonic expression. Only Mac looked natural. 
Innocently he went on. 

‘‘Oh, 1 don’t think that! To me she seems 
quite unself-conscious — that’s one of her charms.” 

“ And she’s so delightfully young ! ” This from 
Brocklehurst. “ Only eighteen : all life before 
her ! Ah, what wouldn’t we give to be eighteen 
again ! ” 

“ I should not care about it at all,” exclaimed 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


89 


Gra. “ I am twenty-six, and I much prefer being 
twenty-six to eighteen. I know I was absurdly 
silly when I was eighteen.” 

“ Ah yes,” said MacFarlane ; “ one can’t have 
knowledge and the freshness of extreme, youth as 
well — that would be idealic, wouldn’t it ? But I 
know what Brock means — there is a fascination 
about youth that is hard to ignore. We may have 
been foolish, ignorant, unsophisticated when young, 
but think how enthusiastic we were ! ” 

“ I think it would be difficult to beat your 
present enthusiasm, Mac ! ” Gra laughed, but it 
was a hard laugh, and MacFarlane noticed it, and 
glanced quickly at her. 

“Oh, well, I’ve kept some of my enthusiasm, I’m 
glad to say,” he said lightly. “ I don’t think one 
need become soured and grumpy because one is 
old.” 

“ No. Even at twenty-six I can still feel.” 

He again looked at her, and this time he noticed 
the primly pursed mouth, and wondered what was 
the matter. But he laughed and shrugged his 
shoulders. 

“A great age, truly! What would you say if 
you were forty-three ? ” 

“ Oh, for a man it does not matter. But we 

poor women must always be young, or ” 

v She made an expressive gesture with her thumb 
turned downwards. 

“ What rot ! How can you say that when 
women are marrying so much older nowadays ? 
Why, it’s rare to hear of a young girl marry- 
ing.” 


90 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Marrying ? Yes. Oh yes, men usually choose 
the sensible women to marry, not the giddy girls. 
But the girls apparently get the admiration and 
enthusiasm ! ” 

“ I don’t agree.” 

“ Oh, well, I suppose I oughtn’t to talk.” Gra 
got up and stretched with elaborate laziness. “ I 
was married before I was twenty.” 

Brocklehurst joined in the conversation, laughing 
a little. 

“ Ah, but I was lucky ! I got the sensible woman 
and the freshness of youth combined.” 

His wife made him a little bow, and threw him 
a smile. Then his heart smote him for his cruelty, 
and he said quietly : 

“ For my part I think you, and also Fai, are far 
better looking now than you were at nineteen. 
Don’t you agree with me, Mac? ” 

“ Quite. To my mind no amount of youth is 
equal to the beautiful look of — of — er, I don’t 
know how to express it. There’s an unawakened 
look about extreme youth that may fascinate blasd 
men, but it’s not to be compared to the softness 
and je ne sais quoi that a woman develops when 
she has lived and known life.” 

“ Hear, hear ! ” laughed Fai. “ A beautiful 
thought, though somewhat stammeringly put ! 
You’re getting on, Mac ! After making two old 
married women positively green with jealousy over 
your sayings about youth, you have mollified them 
and made them feel purry-purry. Come on, Gra, 
let’s go down and see what they’re doing at the 
courts.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


91 


She slipped her arm through her sister’s and 
drew her down the steps. 

“ So ! ” she said quietly, as they entered the rose- 
garden. 

“ So what ? ” 

“ My dear Gra, do you think that we are twins 
for nothing? Have we not known each other’s 
secrets all our lives ? ” 

Gra’s arm gave a sudden movement, but Fai’s 
held it closer. 

“ I don’t know what you mean ! ” — with supreme 
nonchalance. 

“ How long have you loved him ? ” 

Gra gasped ; this was an open attack that made 
her quake. 

“Who, what ” she began, but Fai whisked 

round and confronted her. 

“ Oh, Gra ! ” There were tears in her eyes. 
“ Has my long absence destroyed all the con- 
fidence you had for twenty-three years ? Darling, 
I am just as true and loyal as ever ; won’t you 
trust me ? ” 

Then Gra broke down and sobbed, and, sitting 
on a stone seat by the dragon fountain, she opened 
her heart to her sister, and felt considerably relieved 
after she had done so. 

“ Norman architecture has ruined your life ! ” 
was Fai’s bitter remark when her twin had done. 

“ Nonsense! It was the beautiful ignorance 
of youth that every one was gushing about just 
now. Cuthbert was very fascinating, and I was 
flattered and pleased that a man of his standing 
should like me. I mistook these feelings for love, 


92 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


and I was quite happy. You know I was. How 
can one know the difference before one has 
experienced it — eh ? ” 

Fai was thoughtful. She dragged her finger 
in and out of the old moss-grown stone carving. 

“ Gra, Cuth is jealous.” 

“ My dear Fai, you’re mad ! Cuth does not for 
one moment suspect.” 

“ I say he does. I’ve watched him.” Then she 
told what she had seen in the copse a week 
ago. 

But Gra laughed at her ; called it imagination ; 
said she knew Cuthbert, and could read him like a 
book ; got rather cross, and pooh-poohed the whole 
idea. Fai shut her lips obstinately ; she knew 
what she knew, and nothing would alter her 
opinion. She was uneasy. Now that part of her 
suspicions was proved to be correct, she felt 
perfectly sure that she was equally correct in all. 
Cuthbert was jealous, and he had some deep-laid 
plan. What was it ? She was now aware, through 
Gra’s confidence, that the feelings of Mac and her 
sister were not of recent growth — they had been 
the same for six years. Therefore it could be no 
sudden knowledge on Cuthbert’s part. If he knew 
now he had always known. It could be no fresh 
act on their part that had illumined him. She 
believed Gra when she said that they had made up 
their minds to be “ good,” as she expressed it. 
She had solemnly sworn that Mac had kissed her 
three times only in the six long years. En 
passant she wondered how they could be so 
wonderful, but that was neither here nor there. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


93 


What she was puzzling over was Cuthbert’s action 
in the matter. 

Gra, when repudiating her sister’s suggestion, 
had very justly remarked, “ Why should Cuth 
make Mac come here if he knew ? ” 

Why indeed ? That was the question Fai 
kept asking herself, and ever it remained un- 
answered. It was not as if he did not love his 
wife. No one, however foolish, could suggest such 
a thing. He worshipped her as much now as on 
their wedding-day. Fai had often thought that 
his love was almost medieval in its strength, a love 
the knights of old might have had for the maidens 
they rescued from untold dangers ; not a love one 
saw nowadays — it was fierce, and strong, and over- 
mastering, and she had often felt afraid when she 
had thought of it. 

Ah ! Perhaps that held the explanation. 
Perhaps he wanted to keep the two under 
observation, thinking that nothing could happen 
while he was there to guard against it. Yet that 
seemed idiotic — it would be better surely to 
separate them, to give them no opportunities for 
seeing each other. Did he want Mac to suffer, 
knowing well that his wife’s virtue was beyond 
question ? Yes, that seemed more logical, knowing 
his character as she did, than any other of her 
suppositions. 

Then suddenly she turned quite cold, and 
shivered. Could he mean to kill Mac ? Oh no ! 
oh no ! he could not be so horrible ! She threw 
the thought from her indignantly, but it came 
back again and again. In the dead of night she 


94 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


would wake with the terror of it, and lie shaking 
with fear. Each time she told herself that she was 
a fool, but each time something inside her brain 
said, “ But why have him here, then ? ” 

She took to watching her brother-in-law when 
Mac was present, but always from a coign of 
vantage whence she could see but not be seen ; 
she was afraid of Cuthbert reading her thoughts. 
When she was with him she, by sheer force of 
will, fixed her mind on other subjects. She wanted 
to watch, but would not for the world have him 
know that he was being studied. 

She saw nothing to confirm the theory. The 
two men were undoubtedly fond of one another. 
Cuthbert could not act to that extent. When they 
were alone he was thoroughly natural and un- 
affectedly “ chummy ” ; when Gra joined them a 
faint shadow would flit across her husband’s face, 
and he would draw within himself as it were, but 
still Fai could detect no threat in his expression. 
Only that once in the wood had there been the 
slightest sign of it. No ; there was a curious look 
in his eyes sometimes when he regarded his friend, 
but it was hardly violent — more a certainty of 
revenge of some unknown kind. 

Possibly he was jealous of the future ; he would 
hate the idea of his wife marrying when he was 
dead — and he had been told he might die sud- 
denly. Possibly, knowing MacFarlane’s integrity 
and honesty, he had given him the task of keeping 
him alive out of revenge. 

Suddenly Fai felt that she was enlightened. 
That was the explanation ; she had no doubt 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


95 


whatever now. How cruel ! It reminded her of 
some lover of old planning torture for a rival. 
And Mac had taken up the task to be near Gra, 
and help her as no strange doctor could help 
her. - 

Fai stared out into the darkness of her bedroom 
and shuddered violently. Much thinking had 
enabled her to guess. She felt easier, but very, 
very unhappy. Poor, poor Mac ! 


CHAPTER IX 


I T is so much easier to suffer martyrdom for 
some great idea than to endure patiently the 
idiosyncrasies of one’s companions. 

Gra’s life was made a burden to her by her 
mother’s fad for wood-carving. Just as in the old 
days of girlhood the whole house was turned 
topsy-turvy by Lady Ethersbury’s fads, so was it 
now. To the looker-on it was doubtless amusing, 
but to the lady’s daughters and maid the matter 
became somewhat wearisome. 

She was so fond of boasting that she never 
wasted time, but she did not appear to mind whom 
else she wasted. Her maid became thin and 
haggard, her daughters’ foreheads developed creases 
of worry ; she herself was always cheerful — that 
aggressive cheerfulness that troublesome people 
seem to cultivate. Cheerfulness is no more a sign 
of unselfishness than a wig is of hair. A wig is 
meant to hide deficiencies. 

Nothing disturbed her; she combined modern 
emotions with primitive nerves. Her daughters 
could never remember her having been “ upset,” 
not even over the accidents of childish days — the 
accidents that usually make mothers weep with 
sympathy as they bind up the cuts and bruises. 
96 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


97 


Withal no one could say that her ladyship was 
a bore in the ordinary acceptation of the term. 
People were delighted to have her as one of a 
house-party ; she made people laugh. She passed 
for being witty and epigrammatic, and she never 
divulged that her epigrams were accidental, and 
that often she could not see at what her friends 
were laughing. 

Fai, wearied out, entered Gra’s sitting-room, and 
flung herself into a chair. 

“ I’m dead beat,” she groaned. “ Ladyship has 
been driving Clemson and me mad. She’s come 
to the conclusion that the over-door she was doing 
is too heavy for wood-carving, and we’ve both, 
aided by Sawyer, been streaming after her with 
paper, pencils, compasses, ladders, cushions, and 
goodness knows what, for over an hour.” 

“ My dear, why didn’t you call me ? ” cried Gra, 
much distressed. “ I’ve been free for an hour, and 
I wondered where you were.” 

“ Oh, it’s my turn!” laughed Fai. “You had 
her yesterday. I wish that one could give her 
something to make her less feather-brained ! She 
treats life as some women treat shops — places to 
enter hurriedly, to stare about in, and finger things. 
It’s awful. Gra, I believe she is getting tired of this 
carving already. She stood in front of the tapestry 
in the Oriel room for ten minutes this morning, 
feeling it and wondering what needles and wool 
were used. She also wondered if there were any 
teachers of the work nowadays. If she starts 
tapestry you will have no peace.” 

" Gra ! ” called Lady Ethersbury, from the door. 

7 


98 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Oh, here you are. Pm so tired, my very bones 
ache ! My dear, I cant find a bit that’s suitable. 
It’s like life — all the nice bits seem out of reach, or 
so dusty that one would get positively black touch- 
ing them.” 

Gra chuckled. That it was unconscious wit did 
not spoil the speech in the least. 

“ Dusty ! ” she cried ; “ why on earth don’t the 
servants clean properly ? ” 

“ Oh, it’s not their faults. They can’t get at the 
armoury roof.” 

Her daughter exclaimed : 

“ Oh, I haven’t been up — yet. But I looked 
through Cuthbert’s strong glasses, and I can see it 
is thick with dust. However, I shall have to try 
and get up. There’s a lovely little tracery of vines 
and heads, just suitable for my work.” 

“ But, my dear mother, how do you propose to get 
up there ? It would require a thirty-foot ladder.” 

Lady Ethersbury sighed. 

“ That’s what I came to consult you about. 
I thought that, if Cuthbert did not object, I could 
have a kind of pulley arrangement fixed up, and 
they could haul me up in a chair.” 

Gra and Fai covered their faces and shrieked 
with laughter. They pictured the sight vividly. 
Their mother measured thirty inches round her 
exceedingly well kept waist, and forty-eight round 
her bust. 

“ Oh, I know it would not be exactly dignified,” 
said the lady complacently, “ but one ought not to 
consider dignity on occasions like these. I’m sure, 
Gra, all the knights and people you admire so 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


99 


much could not have always appeared dignified 
when they were climbing up towers and things to 
rescue distressed damsels ! I regard dignity as I 
regard Chinese white in painting — a little is very 
nice, but lumped on it spoils things. I am 
dignified enough in the ordinary course of things ! 
Your poor father used to say I walked like the 
Sphinx — no, I don’t mean that exactly” (as she 
noticed her daughters’ faces), “but it was some- 
thing to do with the Sphinx anyway ! But I must 
consult Cuthbert about this pulley arrangement.” 

“ If the papers get to hear of it they will manage 
to get reporters into the house somehow,” laughed 
Fai, “and you will be snapshotted. Then there 
will be pictures in the society journals with ‘ one of 
our most charming aristocrats at work.’ How will 
you like that ? ” 

“ My dear child, I think it will not be so bad as 
Lady Kretstone, who appeared in The Sketch the 
other day in a group with her eleven children.” 

Gra and Fai became hysterical. 

“ What have I said ? ” queried their mother, 
smiling feebly. 

“ Ladyship, you’ll be the death of me ! ” gasped 
Fai, rolling her head about on a cushion. 

“ Besides, he could only photograph my feet.’* 
Lady Ethersbury was pursuing the idea of the 
reporter. “ That is, unless he got into the gallery, 
and we could keep that door locked. I don’t see 
how my feet could interest anybody — that is, of 
course I mean the public. As a matter of fact, 
your father always said that my feet were my 
great feature — no, I don’t mean that — I mean 


100 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


that he admired them. I think feet are going off 
nowadays — oh, for goodness* sake don’t laugh at 
everything I say! You know quite well what I 
mean. Look at the feet one sees protruding 
beneath those disgusting tight dresses ! Horrors ! 
simply horrors ! By the way, I saw a woman fall 
flat on her nose the other day when she was trying 
to get into a cab ! She forgot she had on a tied-in 
dress. The cabman was unsympathetic ; he called 
out to another that ‘ if women would mistake their 
dresses for navvies’ trousers what could they 
expect?’ I had to ask Mr. Denis, who was with 
me, what navvies did to their trousers. He said 
that they tie them round the knees. But what 
was I talking about ? Oh yes, the pulley. I must 
go and find Cuthbert, and ask him if he thinks I 
could arrange it. Where is he ? Do you know ? ” 
“ Talking to Butson, I think.” 

“ Oh dear, then he won’t want to be interrupted ! 
What a nuisance agents are ! Pennington always 
wants to speak to me when I am most occupied. 
However, it’s nearly lunch-time, so I suppose I 
must wait till the afternoon.” 

“ Have you tried the jambs of the mantelpiece 
in the Pomegranate room ? ” asked Gra anxiously. 

“ Yes, I have. The design is all right, but it’s 
got a ridiculous Latin motto running through it, 
4 Labor omnia vincit,’ and if I exhibited that it 
would look like boasting ! ” 

“ But, my dear Ladyship, it would be a copy : 
every one could see that it was in the original.” 

“ No, my dear, they wouldn’t. Ill-natured 
people would say I’d put it in ! Oh, I know 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


101 


them ! Why, when Mrs. Cottersfield painted that 
lovely view of her house people said that the 
doves on the west gable were painted to give 
people the erroneous impression that the Cotters- 
fields lived in exquisite peace — whereas they 
quarrel like cat and dog, as every one knows. Oh, 
you’ve no idea how horrid people are. Oh, there’s 
the gong — is my hair straight ? ” 

Of course Cuthbert tried all he could to prevent 
his mother-in-law carrying out her mad project, 
but she was obstinate, and, short of refusing his 
permission for the pulley to be erected, which he 
was far too good-natured to do, there was no 
way of stopping her. 

There were seven people staying in the house 
exclusive of relations, and intense interest was 
exhibited in the affair. Norah Barnes giggled 
whenever she looked at Lady Ethersbury, and 
spent her time in watching the workmen putting 
up the foundation for the pulley, and waiting in 
intense excitement for the “ hauling operation ” 
as she called it. She and young Lorrimer — her 
faithful follower — often put their heads together 
and whispered. 

From her brother she had heard of the con- 
versation between Lady Ethersbury and her two 
daughters, and the idea of a reporter photographing 
the lady on her high perch fired Lorrimer’s 
mischievous imagination. 

“ I say, Norah,” he said, with a twinkle in his 
eye, “ wouldn’t it be fun if I disguised myself and 
got into the gallery when she’s up, and * interviewed ’ 
her from there, and took a snapshot ? ” 


102 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Norah gazed at him solemnly. 

“ Dicky, you’re a genius ! Do you think you 
could do it ? ” 

“ Of course I could ! I often act at Oxford. 
You would have to steal the key for me, as they 
are going to lock the gallery door. You must 
go with Mrs. Brocklehurst, or whoever goes to 
lock it,, and must find out where they put the key. 
I shall be waiting for you. No ! I tell you ! I’ll 
get in before they lock it, then you can let me 
out afterwards. See ? She proposes to start work 
to-morrow morning. I’ll go off after breakfast 
for a ride, then I’ll ride back and dismount at 
the stables, and I’ll slip in by the terrace door, and 
up to my room, and make up. Hurrah ! What 
fun it will be ! ” 

“ I hope she won’t be startled, and fall out,” said 
Norah, looking anxious. 

“ You must be there, and you must suggest that 
she is bound into the chair in case of accidents.” 

“ All right. Oh, Dicky, I hope I shan’t laugh ! 
We’re all going to be there. Even fat old Mr. 
Jefferson is interested.” 

Lady Ethersbury was very much flattered at 
the excitement she was causing. She superintended 
the workmen, and suggested many, more or less 
impracticable, improvements in the machinery. 

The next morning, after breakfast, she dis- 
appeared to her room, and reappeared clothed in 
workmanlike overall, with a cap on her head. 

“ I know that they have dusted the place, dear 
Gra,” she said, “ but I thought that there might be 
some left — there always is. You know those people 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


103 


who have an extraordinary person called a ' char- 
woman/ She scrubs and scrubs, and the place looks 
spotless, but the person herself is always cleaning 
and never clean. Dust is like something or other 
in the Bible — always with us. I don’t want to get 
smothered. Now let’s go.” 

“ Don’t you feel nervous, Ladyship ? ” asked Fai. 

“ No, not a bit. I saw that fat workman hauled 
up last night. The ropes are strong enough to 
bear dozens of people.” 

They wended their way to the armoury, followed 
by the rest of the visitors, most of these trying 
hard to hide their smiles. 

The gardener and two of the grooms were on 
the spot to pull the lady up. The ropes ran easily 
over pulleys, and a comfortable chair was lashed 
into a kind of cradle of ropes. By the side of the 
chair was fixed a box which held the whole of 
the paraphernalia the worker found necessary. 
She looked into this to see that everything was 
in its place, then sat in the chair. 

“ Fai,” said Norah Barnes, “ don’t you think 
your mother had better be bound in? I’m so 
terrified of her falling.” 

“Yes, Ladyship, I really think you ought to 
have some support. Wait a moment ; I’ll get 
something.” 

She returned in a few minutes with a wide 
webbing belt of her husband’s, and proceeded to 
buckle her mother into the chair amid laughing 
protests from that lady, who declared that there 
was no possibility of her falling out. Then the 
men pulled at the ropes, and, amid breathless 


104 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


silence, the chair left the ground and mounted to 
the roof. The ropes were fixed firmly. 

“ I’m beautifully comfortable ! ” cried a small 
voice from thirty feet up. “ This carving is even 
more exquisite than I thought. I’m very much 
obliged, Cuthbert, for your kindness. If I can 
get a good copy of this I shall exhibit it.” 

She went on talking as she measured and 
drew on her board. She was thoroughly enjoying 
herself. 

Then from her right, from the gallery she 
was sure was barred to intruders, there came a 
voice. 

“ Excuse me, Lady Ethersbury, but my paper 
heard of your remarkable gift, and we are very 
anxious to have a short description of your 
work.” 

Every one in the hall looked up, and Brockle- 
hurst said “ Damn ! ” furiously. 

Leaning over the stone balustrade was a man 
with long black hair, melancholy whiskers, and 
pince-nez. He was clothed in a weedy-looking 
black frock-coat, in his hand was a notebook, and 
on the stone rail was poised a camera. 

Lady Ethersbury jumped. 

“ How did you get in there? It is locked,” she 
said severely. 

“ Oh, excuse me, madam ! ” begged the sad, 
thin voice. “ We reporters have our living to get, 
and the editor promised me ten pounds if I could 
manage it.” 

“ Go away ! ” cried her ladyship. 

“ Oh, madam, don’t be hard on me. 1 have 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


105 


hidden here since last night I’m stiff and sore, 
and am very hungry. I shall be dismissed from 
the staff if I carry back nothing/’ 

“ I think it is abominable.” These were Lady 
Ethersbury’s words, but her tone was softer. 

“ Pray don’t say that ! I cannot see what harm 
I have done. My editor wishes to wake up our 
idle rich to the fact that for all of them there is 
work to do if they will only do it. They ignore 
their talents as a rule, and waste their lives. We 
want to produce a series of articles to show what 
our aristocrats can do if they like. My editor says 
he wishes to begin with your ladyship, who has 
shown such a good example.” 

The expression on the lady’s face was the same 
as that on a cat’s when it is stroked. This man 
was speaking in almost her own words. Had she 
not set an example by her hard work ? 

“ What do you want to know?” she asked 
quietly. 

The man put the point of a pencil in his mouth, 
and rustled the leaves of his notebook. 

“ When did you take up wood-carving?” 

“ Only this year.” 

“ Did you have lessons ? ” 

“Oh dear yes. I learnt from Signor Tetritonni. 
He thinks very highly of my work. Of course 
I could draw before — your editor will probably 
remember that, By the way, what paper are you 
on ? I forgot to ask.” 

“ It is a new paper, madam, we are now pro- 
ducing our third number. It is The Sceptre , and 
is occupied entirely with our great Society. It is 


106 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


a five-shilling paper, and the contributions are 
entirely from the pens of well-known leaders of 
the haut monde . I am sure you will be pleased 
with it ; I will leave you a copy.” 

“ Very well.” 

He asked a few more questions, then proceeded 
to arrange a tripod and unstrap his camera. 

“ I must stop this ! ” cried Brocklehurst, turning 
to the door. But Norah Barnes flew to his side 
and whispered. 

Cuthbert broke into a roar of laughter, sank on 
a stone bench and rocked to and fro. 

The camera was arranged to the reporter’s 
satisfaction, and the lady posed in an “ intense” 
attitude, with a pair of compasses in her pretty, 
pointed fingers. 

Then Brocklehurst called Gra, and together they 
went upstairs to release the grinning culprit from 
the gallery. 

“ She must never, never know ! ” cried Gra. 
“ I won’t have her feelings hurt. You are going 
back to town next week ; you must write an 
official letter from The Sceptre , saying it has 
gone bankrupt or something, and you must send 
her the photos and the negatives as a proof of 
your good faith.” 

“ Very well, Mrs. Brocklehurst, I’ll do that. Oh, 
Lord ! it was a lark, though ! You don’t really 
mind, do you ? ” 

Gra tried not to smile. How could she be 
severe with this youth, with his merry boyish 
nature ? 

No one knew about it but the Barneses and 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


107 


themselves, and she bound the whole lot to 
secrecy. 

Lady Ethersbury never knew. By the time the 
letter with the photographs came from London 
she had tired of wood-carving, and was intensely 
interested in tapestry, as Fai had prophesied. She 
was rather glad that she had not been celebrated 
in the papers as a wood-carver — tapestry was so 
much more graceful ! 

“ I shall never change again ! ” she exclaimed. 
“ I have at last found something which really 
interests me. I shall try and revive the work. I 
have influence, you know. 1 hope that in a year 
or two you will see hundreds of women doing this 
beautiful work.” 

How often had her daughters heard similar 
speeches ! She was always “ never going to 
change.” 

“ I wonder what the next thing will be! ” sighed 
Fai. “ I hope tapestry will last till I return to 
India. My brain does get so floppy with all this.” 

As a matter of fact, tapestry lasted for eight 
months, longer than anything had endured since 
the Greek-vase craze. She began a “ study ” ten 
feet by eight, copied from a tapestry in the Oriel 
room at Wane’s Ferry. Before she tired she had 
worked one corner — two feet by one and a half ; 
a crusader’s ankle and sandal, and part of a dog. 


CHAPTER X 

M ACFARLANE received a letter from the 
French doctor to whom he had written. 
The answer had been long in coming, as the 
Frenchman had been away. He wrote very 
sympathetically, and very technically, but he 
could give no help. Apparently MacFarlane was 
doing all that he could do. He smiled as he read 
one sentence — “ If you can get proofs that this 
lady is being subjected to suggestion detrimental 
to her health, surely the English law can remove 
her from the influence of her husband.’’ 

It tickled his fancy when he pictured the face 
of a judge asked to believe that it was possible 
to make a person die by suggestion ! The idea 
was amusing to the last degree. His confrere’s 
proposal was so French ! In France he knew 
that it might be possible, but English courts went 
by proofs alone — not such proofs as the Frenchman 
wrote of, but things they could see. It was only 
in criminal and divorce cases that circumstantial 
evidence was admitted. If a man was proved to 
have been near the place where a murder with 
robbery was committed, and afterwards was known 
to have plenty of money, it was nearly enough to 
108 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


109 


hang him. If a woman was proved to have seen 
a man — other than her husband — alone many 
times, or to have kissed him, it was enough to 
divorce her— the idea being that given an oppor- 
tunity all women were impure. 

But to appear in a sober court of law and 
announce that a man was willing his wife to die — 
ah ! that was out of the question. 

So matters must go on as they were. Things 
were better now. Nearly every day he sent Gra 
into an hypnotic sleep, and subjected her mind to 
his powerful will. Only once a week did he 
make an exception, when he knew that at night 
he would be called upon to counteract her hus- 
band’s will : on that day he kept himself 
unfatigued, so as to give out all he could at night. 
Sometimes it was very difficult for both of them 
to escape from all the visitors, and many were the 
ruses they were obliged to employ. 

Gra was just as anxious as he was that they 
should not miss a day, and she became more 
convinced than ever that it was necessary when, 
by a strange chance, she awoke one Wednesday 
night just as her husband was standing over her 
to begin the first passes. 

MacFarlane had seen this from his post in the 
dressing-room, and had closed the door softly, 
watching through his peephole. 

“ Cuth ! ” cried Gra indignantly, " what were you 
going to do ? ” 

“ What’s the matter, dear?” answered her hus- 
band, with intense surprise. “You look quite 
angry. I’m sorry I waked you, but there’s a 


110 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


beastly mosquito worrying me, and I saw it just 
by you, so I got out of my bed to try to catch it.” 

Then he stared about, made frantic clutches in 
the air, and at last said : “ Ah, got him ! Hurrah ! ” 
Rubbed both hands together as though crushing 
something, kissed Gra, again saying he was sorry 
to have disturbed her, and got back to bed. 

But Gra was not satisfied, and lay awake. 
Twice she met her husband’s eyes across the in- 
tervening space, and twice he said, “ Go to sleep, 
goose ! ” 

But she waited till he had turned his back, and 
till she heard the regular breathing that told her 
that he was asleep ; only then did she settle down 
herself. And only then did MacFarlane go back 
to his own room. 

Gra was firmly convinced that she had waked 
because of the suggestion made to her by Mac 
in her hypnotic sleeps, and she rejoiced at the 
success of the experiment. She told him all about 
it the next day, and he had to pretend to be as 
delighted as she was. Poor Gra ! she could not 
know that only the next night she slept soundly 
when her husband bent over her with infinite 
precaution — she did not wake. 

MacFarlane knew that there was one thing he 
might do — that was to will her to wake on Thursday 
(as it would be now) nights at twelve o’clock, and 
stay awake till half-past two. He did not do this, 
because he knew that Brocklehurst, defeated one 
night, would try the next, and so on, and Gra’s 
health would soon break down if she were kept 
awake night after night. There was no way out 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


111 


of it that he could see, except the way he had 
chosen. 

The weeks passed, visitors came and went, and 
the leaves fell off the trees, and colder weather 
came slowly, beginning with a nip in the air in 
the early mornings and the evenings, passing un- 
remarked to the time when the hot-water heating 
had to be turned on, and great log fires lit in the 
huge fireplaces. 

Lady Ethersbury and Captain and Mrs. Barnes 
had left in September to pay some visits. In 
October Fai and her mother returned, leaving the 
soldier with his own people. 

At the end of October the whole household was 
upset by Brocklehurst catching a bad cold which 
developed into pneumonia. 

MacFarlane got a nurse down from London for 
night work, and he slept in the dressing-room 
himself. During the day he and Gra, aided by 
Fai, and hindered by Lady Ethersbury, did the 
work. 

The doctor was very anxious, Cuthbert’s heart 
became very feeble, and he found it necessary 
constantly to keep it up to the mark by strong 
remedies. Once he had a great specialist down, 
but he could suggest nothing that was not already 
being done. 

However, they succeeded in pulling the patient 
round, and by the first days of December he was 
well again, barring weakness. 

The specialist came down again, sounded and 
prodded, then expressed a decided opinion that 
Brocklehurst should go to some warm climate for 


112 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


the rest of the winter. MacFarlane had thought 
the same, and many were the consultations as to 
where they should go. 

“ Egypt ? ” proposed Cuthbert. 

“No ; I won’t hear of Egypt,” said Mac decidedly. 
“ It’s too hot. Your heart would immediately get 
fatigued ; great heat is very bad for you. The 
south of France is equally impossible, the night 
cold would be dangerous ; and I know what you 
are — you’d go to that beastly Casino and get hot 
and stuffy, then one couldn’t drag you away before 
sunset, and you’d come out and get cold again. 
No. The Italian Riviera is better.” 

“ I won’t go ! I’ve been, and, though it’s perfectly 
beautiful, I loathe the people one meets there — 
Jews, Germans, Americans, and vulgar, rich English. 
I’ve no prejudice against nationalities, but I hate 
the vulgarians of all races. I prefer the frankly 
common one sees at Blackpool.” 

“ I fear Blackpool is not warm enough ! ” laughed 
Mac. 

“ How about Malta, or Sicily ? ” 

“ Oh, I couldn’t live for months in Sicily ! ” cried 
Gra, “ I should be in terror of another earthquake. 
They keep on having little shocks every few 
months.” 

“ In Malta you would get winds. No ; Malta 
won’t do for the winter.” 

Finally the last person they could think of helped 
them. 

“Why not try the Canary Isles?” asked Lady 
EthersbUry when informed of the difficulty. “ I 
was there three years ago, and it’s the most 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


113 


wonderful climate I have yet discovered. About 
seventy all the time, night and day. At least, 
the temperature only falls a few degrees at night, 
and the sun always shines — I mean in the day,” 
she added as she saw her daughters smiling. 
“ There’s always a moon at night — I don’t know 
how it manages it, but there was always a moon 
when I was there.” 

Encyclopaedias and Baedekers were consulted, 
and finally it was decided. 

Captain Barnes, who returned at this time, 
wanted them to go to Teneriffe, but Brocklehurst 
was obstinately convinced that he would like Las 
Palmas better. 

“ It’s ugly,” said Barnes. 

“ I don’t care. I like ugly places. My reason 
is, that I see that the best hotel in Teneriffe is 
high up above the sea ; at Las Palmas I can be 
right on the sea, and I love that. We can go 
over to Teneriffe for a time if we fancy it, but 
I want to go to Las Palmas. Another reason is 
that the harbour at Las Palmas is a very good 
one, and it isn’t at Santa Cruz. I suppose we 
shall go in the Wane ? ” 

“ I suppose so,” said Gra, with a shiver. 41 The 
regular steamers are not very large, it seems, and 
I don’t suppose it will make much difference.” 

“ Poor Gra ! ” said her husband pityingly, “ I 
wish you loved the sea as I do.” 

“ I do love her — to look at ! Also I don’t mind 
being on the sea when it’s smooth, but How- 

ever, it's no good — you’ve never been ill, so you 
don’t realize what it is ! ” 

8 


114 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Well, we can avoid the Bay, dear. We can go 
through Spain, and have the Wane sent round 
to meet us at Cadiz. That will be all right, 
eh?” 

“Yes, that’s better.” Gra was studying a map, 
and pointing with a pink-tipped finger as she 
contemplated their journey. “Yes; I don’t think 
I could face the Bay at this time of year.” 

When the whole thing was arranged MacFarlane 
could not help being worried as to how he should be 
able to carry out his midnight watchings. He asked 
Fai to take a walk with him, and he consulted her, 
trusting to the woman-brain to find a way out of 
the difficulty. 

“You see,” he said, with a crease of thought in 
his forehead, “ I don’t see how it is to be done, and 
I won’t give it up if I can help it — I’m certain it 
has helped Brock, he’s had no bad attack since 
July. They will of course arrange to have a dress- 
ing-room there, but how can I go wandering about 
an hotel at night ? People, if they met me, might 
report to the manager ! ” 

“ Um — m,” remarked Fai ; she held her lower 
lip with her finger and thumb, and looked bothered. 
“ Can’t you have a room adjoining theirs ? ” 

“ No ; I’ve thought of that, but it would never do. 
Brock would naturally lock the in-between door, 
and he would be on the qui vive. I would never 
dare open it, even if I could.” 

“ Well, you must risk the passages, that’s all.” 

“ Another thing,” went on Mac, frowning still 
more — “ in hotels I know Brock always locks his 
doors, and how on earth could I get in ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


115 


u Oh, bother ! ” Fai stopped dead in the road 
and looked at her companion with puzzled eyes. 
“ What can one do, Mac ? Wait ; let me think.” 

They walked on in silence for some time. Then 
she stopped again. 

“ In the illustration of the hotel there is a wide 
balcony running all round by the rooms. Couldn't 
you come by the window ? ” 

“ And the shutters!” scoffed Mac. “I know those 
shutters — they have a bolt on the inside, so that 
one can sleep with the window open and yet be 
secure.” 

“Well, you must invent a means of opening the 
shutter from outside. Anyway, it’s easier than the 
door ; you couldn't open that with the key left on 
the inside. Look here — give me a piece of paper 
and a pencil — thanks. See ? ” 

She spread the paper on a flat stone on the top 
of a low wall, then she drew busily. 

“ The shutters are like the ordinary Continental 
shutters — aren’t they ? — with slats of wood like 
this.” 

“ Yes ; they look like that in the photograph.” 

“ Well, when Cuth and Gra are out, you must 
remove one of the slats very carefully and replace 
it by a little wedge. You can easily take it out 
at night, and that leaves enough space for your 
hand to pass through, and you can then pull back 
the catch. See ? ” 

“ Yes. Yes ; that seems to be the only thing to 
do, certainly. I must grease the bolt so that it 
makes no noise. I doubt whether I shall be 
able to bore 4 hole in the door — they always have 


1 1 6 SHADOW-SHAPES 

light paint in those hotels. However, I must do 
what I can.” 

“ As far as that goes,” said Fai, “he will probably 
leave the door open. The outer door will be locked, 
you see, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t.” 

“ Oh ! ” cried Mac in consternation, “ that will be 
an awful bore. I might make a faint noise and 
then all would be bust up. No ; I must tell Gra 
to shut it alw r ays — 1 can easily say that I fear a 
draught for him. You have helped me a lot, Fai ; 
I’m most tremendously grateful.” 

“ Absurd ! I’m only too glad if I’ve been able 
to do even the tiniest thing to help you. I shall 
be there for the first three weeks, and shall be able 
to see how it works. The great thing to be 
remembered is that you must get a room on the 
same floor.” 

“ Oh, that’s easy. I have a good excuse for 
that, as if he were ill in the night I must be near, 
so that Gra could fetch me quickly.” 

Fai and her husband were going with the party 
in the yacht ; they were to stay till the end of 
January with the Brocklehursts, and then the 
Wane would take them back to Marseilles in time 
to catch the P. & O. boat to India. Barnes’s leave 
would be up in February, and, much to the sorrow 
of the sisters, they would have to part again. 

Fai cheered Gra as well as she could by telling 
her that there were rumours that the regiment 
would be ordered to Gibraltar or England the 
next winter, and Gra prayed that it might be so. 
In the meanwhile she felt she could not part from 
Fai for one moment that was not absolutely 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


117 


necessary, and she had persuaded her brother- 
in-law to come to the Canaries with them. 

Preparations went on ; Gra went up to London 
several times to “ do shopping,” declaring she had 
not one summer frock left fit to wear. 

On the twentieth of December they went to 
Paris, and after, by easy stages, through Spain, 
spending Christmas in Madrid. 

The yacht met them at Cadiz, and, much to Gra’s 
joy, there was every prospect of a smooth voyage. 

The Wane was a fine steamboat of nearly a 
thousand tons ; she was painted white, with a dark- 
blue line above the water-mark, and she was the 
joy and pride of her owner. 

The moment Brocklehurst felt the roll and swell 
of the sea he was a different man. The somewhat 
gloomy manner he had had for some months 
vanished completely, and he became as light- 
hearted as a boy. 

MacFarlane thought it was a good opportunity 
to try to make his friend promise to give himself 
a rest during their sojourn in the sunny isles. 
But he could not succeed. Cuthbert laughed at 
him, and asked him to notice how well he was. 

“ But I want you to keep well, old chap. If 
you work hard you may get seedy. Look here, do 
give it up while we are abroad ; you can go back 
to it when we return in the spring.” 

“ You seem to want me to become a moribund 
animal during the winter ! ” chaffed Brocklehurst. 
“ No; I really can’t stagnate like that. I must do 
some work.” 

“ Well, work less often, then, Brock. Do grant 


118 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


me that favour. Say once a fortnight instead of 
once a week. Do ! You can work in the daytime 
oftener if you like ; you’ll probably feel so fit there 
that you’ll be able to. It’s the nights I want you 
to have quiet.” 

Then to his surprise and delight Cuthbert 
consented, and passed his word that he would 
only work at night once a fortnight — if that. 

“ If I don’t find it necessary to do nightwork, I 
won’t, Mac. We’ll see how I get on in the day. 
As you say, it’s such good air I shall very likely do 
all I want to in the day. Then the nights can go.” 

But MacFarlane smiled bitterly. He knew. 


CHAPTER XI 



'"'HE Wane steamed into the harbour at Las 


A Palmas just as the sun was setting behind 
the hills. The reflection turned everything around 
to an exquisite glowing red. The sea was a trans- 
parent pale green, with a bar of deep violet along 
the horizon, and on its smooth surface little sailing 
boats were moving gently, their sails seemingly 
on fire. The fort and signal station on the heights 
had caught the prevailing colour, and the sand- 
dunes looked like a wonderful Eastern carpet full 
of changing lights and gleaming iridescence. Far 
away over the West Bay the mountains were 
green and purple and gold, deepening into blacker 
shadows full of mystery. 

The yacht’s passengers leant over the rail gazing 
at all this feast of colour, and amusedly watching 
two of their sailors who were busy keeping at bay 
the occupants of the swarm of small boats round 
them, who were vociferating, holding up their 
wares, jumping up and down, waving their arms, 
and doing all they knew to attract the attention of 
the yacht-owner. The clamour was terrific, but 
the sight was exceedingly picturesque. 

“ Butiful lovely cigare, buy lovely cigare ! ” 
yelled one merry-eyed man, balancing himself 


119 


120 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


perilously with one bare foot each side of the boat, 
and holding an open box of very dark cigars in 
each hand. 

“ Sweet ! sweet ! ” cried a boy, as if he were calling 
to birds, but the word evidently referred to the 
succulent properties of the bananas and oranges 
in his boat. 

One, an Indian, held up solemnly some gorgeous 
Eastern embroideries in one hand, and a Japanese 
kimona in the other. He said nothing, but stared 
with melting eyes at the women. 

Another boat was piled with the drawn-thread 
work of the country, packages and packages of 
snowy whiteness with here and there a brighter 
colour amongst them. A tall lean-hipped man 
held at arms’ length a white bed-spread, one mass 
of delicate openwork ; another in the same boat 
draped himself in a mauve dress-length, his brown 
hands waving as he shrieked that “ nevare, nevare 
would the ladies see such wonderful cheapness. 
Only fifteen shillang ! ” 

Another boat was crammed with basketwork — 
chairs, baskets, tables, every imaginable thing 
made of the charming split-cane industry. 

All but the Indian, who stood like a rock, silent 
and wistful, yelled and screamed, some in broken 
English, some in Spanish. 

There were little mandolines made of tortoise- 
shell and ivory, filigree work from Malta, ebony 
elephants from India, queer applique clothwork 
from Egypt — every land seemed represented, from 
the west coast of Africa to the farthest point of 
Japan. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


121 


“ Why,” asked Gra, “ do they sell all these things 
here? Look at that Maltese lace shawl, Cuth— 
how lovely ! But why should one find all this here, 
so far away ? ” 

Captain Barnes explained. 

“ You see the Canaries are on the way to many 
places. The Castle boats come here, some of the 
South American boats, and many others. So the 
natives do a good trade amongst those people who 
have never seen India, Japan, etc. They cater for 
all. When will these preliminaries be over ? One 
would think we had cholera on board at the very 
least ! ” 

At last they were allowed to land, and, being a 
small boat, the Wane steamed up to the mole, and 
the passengers were landed on the quay. 

“ So these are the tartanas, I suppose,” said Fai, as 
she studied the funny little covered carts that were 
standing in a row in the road. The drivers were 
pushing and hustling each other by the gangway, 
each swearing in a funny mixture of English and 
Spanish that his tartana was the only one that the 
visitors could possibly condescend to take. The 
porter from the hotel shoved them on one side and 
touched his cap. 

“ I’ve got the cart here for the luggage, sir ; I’ll 
see to it.” 

“ Very well,” agreed Cuthbert. “ Will you wait 
and see my valet and the maid into a tartana. Yes, 
put the dressing-cases in with us. Can we all get 
into one ? ” 

He looked doubtfully at the small horse, but the 
porter smiled. 


122 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Oh yes ! they hold six. Better take this one, 
sir.” And he opened the door of a tartana drawn by 
a white horse. The driver smiled with the beaming 
smile only a Southerner knows the secret of, swept 
off his wide hat with a courteous bow, tucked in 
Fai’s dress tenderly before he shut them in, jumped 
on the box, and drove off. 

He presently sat himself down on the footboard 
to regulate the weight, and drove sideways. When 
there was anything in his way he whistled shrilly 
through his teeth. 

They bumped and rocked as they tore along 
over the fearful road and the uneven tram-lines, 
the sea murmured and splashed on their left, on 
the right were the squalid houses of one story, 
and after that the sand-dunes which people are so 
fond of labelling “ ugly.” Beyond these stretched 
the purple mountains. 

“ Cuth, ask him if he speaks English.” 

The man gave a radiant smile. 

“ Yes, I spek vary veil ! ” 

“ What are these crosses for ? ” asked Gra, 
pointing as she spoke to a small rough wooden 
cross at the side of the road. “ We’ve passed two 
others. Ah ! and there are two more side by 
side.” 

The man looked blank — he had not understood ; 
his “vary” good English was not equal to the 
occasion. 

“ Crosses,” explained Gra patiently. “ What for 
these crosses ? ” She crossed her fingers, and again 
pointed. 

“ Ah yes, crosses ! ” 


An illuminating smile. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


ns 


“Von two man die dare — see? Dey drive dark 
night, dey fall ovare. See down dare.” His 
expressive gestures with whip, hands, and shoulders 
explained the accident. 

“ Oh ! ” cried Gra, with a shudder. “ Fai, do you 
understand ? They’ve put up crosses at the places 
where the poor men fell over the rocks.” 

Fai nodded ; she was touched. 

“ Oh, palms ! ” exclaimed her sister. “ How 
jolly ! I never get tired of palms. Oh, that’s 
Bougainvillea ; did you ever see anything more 
gorgeous than that mass of colour ? ” 

“Ve com! Ve here!” cried the driver, and 
turned in at the gates. 

While the men were arranging things in the 
office the two women admired the patio. 

“ How delicious, and how Spanish ! It must 
always be cool here.” 

“We shan’t have time to dress for dinner,” 
remarked Fai ; “ they say the luggage won’t be up 
for an hour.” 

“ Oh well, we’re fairly respectable ! ” 

“We’ve got rooms on the first floor,” said 
Brocklehurst as he joined them. “ Mac says it’s 
better I should have no stairs, but I don’t like to 
be on the ground floor.” 

“ No ; I shouldn’t either. It’s sure to be noisy.” 

They went up the stairs with the manageress, 
who showed them a big room, with windows open- 
ing on to a wide balcony ; through another door 
was the dressing-room, and MacFarlane looked 
quickly to see if his plan were feasible. He caught 
Fai’s eye, and they nodded to each other. His 


124 SHADOW-SHAPES 

room was further along the corridor, three doors 
away. 

Fai and her husband were on the second floor. 

There were not many people in the hotel yet ; 
the manager told them that the next two months 
would see the rush. What there were appeared 
" decent,” as Gra expressed it, and she and Fai 
after dinner in the patio started labelling the 
people with nicknames — an old childish habit. 
There was “ Lord Dundreary,” an old soldierly 
man with whiskers, “ The Duchess,” a pretty 
woman with grey hair, active and gracious, who 
held a kind of court in one corner. Captain Barnes 
found out that she had been here every winter for 
six years, and was made much of. 

“ She actually knows some of the residents ! ” he 
exclaimed. 

“ Why,” asked his wife, “ is that so wonderful ? ” 

“ Lord, yes ! Craughton told me before we left 
England that the residents are far too haughty to 
know mere trippers. When they have graciously 
opened the tennis club to visitors they consider 
that they’ve done their duty. It’s always the way 
in this kind of place, it’s fearfully cliquey. He 
told me that he went to a dance here once, and 
would never go again. The Catalina Hotel people 
danced with each other, the Metropole ditto, and 
the residents positively froze the rest of the crowd. 
Awful larks ! I hope there’ll be a dance before we 
go ! ” 

Gra sniffed. 

“ I never think snobbery is amusing ! ” she said, 
with a little move of disgust. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 125 

Then “ The Duchess ” sailed over to their 
corner. 

“ You’ve just come, I hear?” she remarked 
pleasantly to Gra. “ We did not expect people 
to-day, as it’s not mail day ; but they tell me you 
came in your yacht.” 

“Yes. Luckily it was smooth, except for one 
day.” 

“ Ah ! you’re not a good sailor ? ” 

Gra shook her head with a whimsical expression. 

“ Alas, no ! My husband ” — she touched Cuth- 
bert’s arm by way of introduction — “ loves the sea. 
He’s never ill.” 

“Yes, I envy men. You see that thin slip of 
a woman over there ? She and her husband came 
over in an awful storm the other day, they thought 
the ship was going down. She was the only 
woman who appeared on board the whole time. 
She never missed a meal. That vulgar little man 
in the frock-coat is her husband.” 

Gra laughed. 

“Oh,” she said, “now I can understand. He 
looks as if he would kill every natural emotion ! ” 

“ The Duchess ” shrieked with laughter. 

“ Oh, I must tell that to my husband,” she 
chuckled. “ Do any of you play bridge ? ” she 
went on ; “ we are so short of players.” 

“Yes, we all play, more or less. I’m sure my 
husband would be delighted to have a game. 
Wouldn’t you, Cuth ? ” 

“ The Duchess ” — her name, they found out, was 
Ratherson — was delighted ; she was never quite 
happy unless she was playing bridge. Soon they 


126 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


had two tables going. Mr. Ratherson did not 
play ; he looked on and criticized. 

A Dr. and Mrs. Forman played, and after one 
rubber Captain Barnes and the doctor found that 
they were old acquaintances. They had been 
eyeing each other furtively all the time, till at last 
Barnes said : 

“ Haven’t you been in India ? ” 

“Yes; I was a R.A.M.C. man. I know your 
face.” 

They became deep in conversation about friends, 
until “ The Duchess ” tapped the table with her fan. 

“ Are you going to play ? ” she asked plaintively, 
and the game went on, punctuated with : “ What 
has become of the So-and-sos ? ” “ Where is 

What’s-his-name now ? ” “ Have the A.s got any 

more children ? ” “ Is B. still a dab at polo ? ” and 

so on. 

Gra insisted on stopping at eleven o’clock, much 
to Mrs. Ratherson’s disappointment. 

“ I’m sorry, but my husband is here for his 
health; that’s his doctor with him. He must go 
to bed early.” 

“Well, I’m sorry too, but I quite understand. I 
hope we shall have many games together.” 

“ I hope so. But you need not stop now, I’m 
sure. My sister and brother-in-law will be delighted 
to go on, and Dr. MacFarlane, too.” 

“Not the MacFarlane of London?” said Dr. 
Forman. “ I mean the heart man who writes so 
well in the medical papers. But of course not ; that 
man’s a specialist.” 

“Yes, it is he,” answered Gra quietly — “James 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


m 


MacFarlane. He and my husband are very old 
friends, and he has given up his work to come and 
take care of him. You know men are so difficult ! 
I think he is the only person who has any authority 
over this patient, so he came. Yes, Mac, I’m 
ready ; we were waiting till you’d finished your 
rubber ! Who won ? ” 

“ Nothing in it. Forty centimos out in the end. 
We won two rubbers each.” 

“I don’t think it will be bad here — do you, Cuth?” 
asked Gra as she linked her arm in his, going up to 
their room. 

“ No, not half bad. This is certainly a delight- 
ful room, isn’t it ? Quite grand furniture ! ” 

The maid and valet had been busy, and the 
rooms looked almost homelike. Gra tumbled in 
under her mosquito curtains, and slept soundly, 
with that childlike sleep one acquires only after a 
sea voyage. 


CHAPTER XII 



HE lazy life and the marvellous sub-tropical 


climate worked wonders for Brocklehurst. 


He looked better than he had done for years. He 
had seldom looked really ill, but to the initiated 
it was easy to see that all was not well with him. 
Now the slight blue tinge round his mouth and 
the drawn appearance round his eyes disappeared 
entirely. Even before Fai and her husband left 
for India the difference was noticeable. 

“ Do you think he will get well, Mac ? ” asked 
Fai, the day before she left. 

“ I think it is possible . It is, of course, very 
rarely known — a perfect healing of the lesions, I 
mean — but it has been heard of, to the everlasting 
wonder of the medical world. If he goes on like 
this I fail to see why he should not be one of the 
miracles. I gave him a thorough overhauling 
yesterday, and the irregularity is so slight it’s 
almost impossible to detect.” 

“ Grand ! ” she exclaimed. “ He owes it all 
to you.” 

“ My dear girl, I’ve done hardly anything that 
an ordinary student could not have done.” 

“ Pooh ! How about your night watches and 
the saving him from fatigue ? ” 


128 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


129 


“That? Oh, that is nothing/’ stammered Mac. 
He hated receiving her praise under false pre- 
tences. That it was to save her sister he knew 
would stimulate her gratitude still more, but 
that was neither here nor there. The point was 
that she was praising him for something he had 
not done. 

He wondered now if he had done anything. 
Looking out at the sparkling sea and the tropical 
vegetation, the whole idea seemed a horrible 
nightmare. Had he been mad to take the thing 
seriously ? Brocklehurst had been excited and 
unnerved, naturally, by the verdict of the doctors. 
He wanted his friend to be with him, fearing a 
stranger — he always did dislike having strangers 
round him — and, having found out Mac’s feelings 
for Gra, he had tried to gain his ends by the silly 
extravagant threat which Mac had taken seriously. 
It was madness ! As for his seances in the night — 
well, his doctor had forbidden him hypnotism, and, 
like a naughty child, he did secretly what he could 
not do openly. Mac shook himself. Why had he 
been such a fool ? Why had he been frightened 
like this? Then suddenly his mind went back to 
that un-Maylike wet morning in the library in 
Curzon Street. Again he saw his friend’s face 
lifted up with that extraordinary strength of 
purpose in it. Again he heard the solemn words 
spoken in that unnaturally low voice : “ I swear by 
Almighty God, in whom even you believe ; I swear 
by all the living and all the dead ; I swear by 
every sacred thing known, that when I go to the 
shades beyond, she goes too.” 

9 


130 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


He shuddered violently, as he had felt himself 
shudder at the time. 

Then that other horrible picture came like a 
flash to his brain — Cuthbert lying on his bed 
scarcely alive, his heart beating so feebly that, if 
he had been left unattended, the faint spark of 
life would have flickered out ; Gra falling on her 
bed white and speechless, not in a faint (was he 
not doctor enough to know that ?) ; Brocklehurst’s 
recovery and his anxious, frightened look as he 
asked, “ Where’s Gra ? ” — then the expression of 
triumph when he knew that she had been ill — an 
expression so fleeting that no one but an attentive, 
suspicious watcher could have noticed it. He flung 
a pebble into the sea and gazed across at the 
signal-station with unseeing eyes. 

“ God knows no one has ever accused me of 
imagination run riot ! ” he thought. “ That is not 
my failing. Yet tell this story to a thousand men, 
and all but possibly one would say I was mad. I 
am not mad ; I have seen what I have seen. I have 
known Brock for twenty years, and I know his 
character as no one else does. I know his strength, 
I know his beliefs — I must credit what I have 
seen. Reason ! Reason does not come into this 
at all. I thought once that reason could apply to 
everything, poor puny fool ! Why, three hundred 
years ago Shakespeare knew better ! No ; I must 
go on. Even if I am mad, even if it is all a dream 
of impossible absurdity, it can do no harm to 
continue.” 

His self-imposed task was easier now. Brockle- 
hurst knew of his improvement, and was gayer 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


131 


and more himself. He had promised MacFarlane 
to “ work ” at night only once a fortnight. Mac 
was always on the spot waiting and watching, but 
sometimes Cuthbert slept soundly and did not 
wake to carry out his designs. Then Mac would 
come the next night. Even then it twice hap- 
pened that nothing unusual occurred, and the 
doctor had to enter again,* like a burglar, before 
Brocklehurst rewarded his patience. The invalid 
was evidently getting used to the idea that he 
might get well, and was not so anxious. 

Mac was delighted ; he hoped that in time the 
practice might be given up altogether. He was 
especially pleased because, here, it was impossible 
for him to hypnotize Gra every day. There 
were no newspapers to occupy her husband every 
morning, and he usually proposed going out or 
doing something that would keep them all to- 
gether. When they thought they were safe from 
interruption they would go down to the wooden 
summer-house whence Mac could see through the 
latticework, if any one were coming, in time to 
stop the movement of his arms. But this was 
only once or twice a week ; and if Cuthbert had 
been carrying on his old plan of weekly influence, 
MacFarlane would have been very anxious. As 
it was he felt content, and made up his mind 
to enjoy the dolce far niente life to the utter- 
most. 

He sometimes played tennis, and occasionally, 
when a match was got up, cricket. That was 
the extent of his activity. Walking he did not 
count. 


132 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


They had brought a motor with them, and they 
took drives nearly every day, much to the disgust 
of the chauffeur, who, when the roads were a little 
worse than usual, would look round at his master 
with an expression that made them all laugh. 
They took innumerable excursions, and found the 
country inland very beautiful. 

Gra, who had a great gift for languages, took 
lessons in Spanish, and soon she could talk to the 
wonderfully picturesque and dirty country people. 
She had some difficulty at first in understanding 
the patois they spoke, but soon got used to it. 
Over and over again she would stop the motor, 
get out, and speak seriously and persuasively to 
some driver about his poor starved and bleeding 
mules. 

No Spaniard is rude to a pretty woman, and he 
would shrug his shoulders, grin freely, look quite 
astonished at the idea of any one — even a mad 
Inglesa — pretending to think that animals had 
feelings ; perhaps to please her he would loosen a 
strap or ease a collar — and that was all. Gra 
would return to the motor red-cheeked and half 
weeping. 

“ What can one do ? ” she would cry in despair. 

“ My dear Gra,” said her husband kindly one 
day, “what can one expect of a nation that is 
brought up from its earliest childhood to look 
upon bull-fighting and cock-fighting as sports ? 
It’s no good ; they all tell me that they have tried 
everything, and that the more one lectures the 
brutes, the worse they are.” 

“ Have you heard the history of the Society 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


133 


they tried to get up?” asked Mac. “ Well, they 
had a thousand pounds given them to start it with 
by a rich visitor, then they tried the residents — 
few would subscribe, they were indifferent. Then 
they went to the bishop. The bishop remarked 
that he would do nothing to interfere with the 
poor earning their living. Charming, wasn’t it ? ” 

“ I shall get Signora Carmorito to write to 
the King or Queen,” said Gra ; “ surely the 
Queen, being English, would do something if 
she knew.” 

It was this question of animal-torture that led to 
a very serious result for Brocklehurst. 

He and MacFarlane were walking down by 
the port one day ; they had left Gra at the English 
hospital, whither they had motored her to take 
flowers and books to a patient, a visitor who had 
a bad attack of fever. They were to call for her 
again in a quarter of an hour ; meanwhile they 
strolled as far as the club to watch the shipping, 
leaving the motor at the corner. 

Walking back they met and stopped to speak 
to a man who lived at their hotel ; he was a clerk 
in one of the offices at the port. Just as they 
were turning away they saw a cart, loaded with 
full sacks of grain, drawn by a wretched horse. 
His bones were through his skin, his head hung 
down, and he hobbled on three legs. Brocklehurst 
glanced at the sorry beast ; he was too used to the 
misery now to take much notice. Suddenly he 
started and looked closer. 

“ God !” he exclaimed. “This is a bit too much. 
Mac, that leg is broken.” 


1S4 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Mac went forward, held up his hand to the 
driver to make him stop, and placed his hand on 
the off hind leg of the horse. It was quite true, 
the leg was broken. He turned to the other man 
with them and asked him to tell the driver the 
state of affairs. 

The rough dirty Spaniard got down off the 
shafts and looked furious. He spoke rapidly, with 
many gesticulations. 

“ What’s he say ? ” asked Cuthbert. 

Mr. Palmer shrugged his shoulders. 

“ The usual thing ! He says it’s been like that 
for two days, and it works all right.” 

“ Works all right ! ” quoted Brocklehurst furiously. 
“ I’d like to break his leg, the dirty scoundrel, and 
see how he’d like to work ! Anyway, Palmer, I’m 
not going to stand this. The brute must be 
killed.” 

“Good Lord! You don’t know what the red- 
tape is here. The other day they left a dying 
horse by the side of the road for two days — it 
had been knocked down by the tramway, and 
crushed horribly — just because the owner was 
away and couldn’t be got at. It’s no good ; one 
can do nothing.” 

“ Look here — offer the man a few pounds for it, 
then we’ll kill it.” 

“ Humph ! ” cried the resident. “ Do you know 
what the result would be? You’d have dozens 
of men breaking their horses’ and mules’ legs in 
the hope of getting the same reward ! ” 

MacFarlane pressed his mouth together firmly. 

“ Well, I'm going to do something, that’s certain. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 135 

I’d never rest easy a moment after if I thought I’d 
let that go.” 

During this conversation the Spaniard had been 
talking without ceasing. Once or twice he had 
tried to lead the horse on, but Mac’s hand was on 
the bit. 

Brocklehurst strode to the motor. 

“ Gregson,” he called to his man, “ drive back to 
the hotel as hard as you can lick, go up to my 
room and bring my gun — see that you bring 
cartridges too. Hurry ! you ought to be back in 
ten minutes.” 

The man set the engine going, sprang to his 
seat and went off in a cloud of dust. 

“ What do you propose to do ? ” asked Palmer 
anxiously. 

“ Kill it, and let him sue me,” was the short 
answer. 

“ I’ll do it, Brock,” cried Mac ; “ I know the 
exact place to shoot.” 

“ All right ; I don’t care who does it, as long 
as it’s done.” 

He walked to and fro angrily. Palmer argued 
with the owner, trying to persuade him to consent 
to the beast being killed. He was sulky and 
obdurate, tried to snatch the reins from Mac- 
Farlane’s hand, and was generally objectionable. 

A crowd had collected, vociferous and amused. 
Some — a very small percentage — said that the 
horse was not fit to work. 

The Englishmen were joined by one or two 
others from the offices round about. 

“ Look out for a row ! ” said one quietly. “ I 


136 SHADOW-SHAPES 

tried this sort of thing once, and it was not 
pleasant.” 

There was the purr of the motor, and Gregson 
swept round the corner, brought the car to a 
standstill, and jumped to the ground. 

“ I brought two revolvers too, sir,” he said 
quietly ; “ I thought the Spaniards looked nasty 
like, and they might be useful. They’re all loaded ; 
I did that in your room.” Then seeing his master 
look surprised, he added, “ My brother’s a game- 
keeper, sir ; I know all about it.” 

The owner of the horse sprang at MacFarlane, 
but was brought up short by some quick words 
in Spanish, as an English youth snatched a 
revolver from Gregson and pointed it in deadly 
fashion. Mac took the gun ; Brocklehurst took 
the other revolver and faced the crowd. No one 
moved. 

In one moment a shot rang out, and the poor 
agonized brute had ended his sufferings for ever. 

“ Palmer, take my letter-case out of my pocket,” 
said Brocklehurst — “ thanks. You’ll find cards 
there. Give one to that brute and tell him he 
can do what he likes. I shall be at the hotel 
for two months longer.” 

He backed to the car. 

“ Come on, Mac. You’d better come too, Palmer ; 
you’re going back to lunch, I suppose ? ” 

The men got in .and drove off, leaving a furious 
man shaking his fist after them, and an excited 
crowd laughing and talking. 

They told Gra something of the affair, knowing 
she was bound to hear of it. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


137 


That night after dinner Brocklehurst and Mac- 
Farlane strolled up and down the terrace by the 
sea, smoking. Cuthbert was now allowed three 
cigarettes a day, much to his joy. A half-moon 
lit up the calm sea, and the air was warm and 
scented. Mac was throwing pebbles at a rock, try- 
ing to hit a particular mark. His companion walked 
on slowly, drinking in the beauty around him. 

When he had walked about fifty yards he turned 
his back to the sea and looked up at the lighted 
hotel. 

Then a head appeared over the top of the sea- 
wall, followed by a stealthy body. As it dropped 
lightly to its feet Brocklehurst was startled by a 
cry from Mac. 

“ Look out, Brock ! ” 

He wheeled quickly, just in time to catch a 
wrist holding a gleaming knife poised to strike ; 
he struck out with his left hand, but the man 
closed, twisted his right leg round Cuthbert’s knees, 
and brought him heavily to the ground. He lifted 
his freed hand to strike downwards with the knife, 
but Mac was upon him, and he was held as in a 
vice. 

Other men came running, and in a few moments 
they had the Spaniard bound and helpless. 

“ See to him,” panted Mac ; “ I must take 
Brocklehurst in. One of you help me to carry 
him. Quick ! ” 

The hotel was in wild commotion, people ran 
hither and thither trying to help. Almost before 
they got Brocklehurst to his bed the hot-water 
bottles were ready. 


138 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Injection ? ” queried Gra hurriedly. 

“Yes — quick ! ” 

Dr. Forman was there too ; they were all three 
working hard over the unconscious figure. 

“ I’m afraid he’s gone,” whispered Forman, but 
Mac shook his head. 

The pallor was not the pallor of death ; he had 
seen him as bad as this. But he was furious, because 
he had hoped all that was over, and now this 
Spaniard ! Mac became profane. 

It seemed hours to the anxious watchers before 
Brocklehurst opened his eyes. 

He drank the liquid offered him, and sighed. 

“ Ah ! I remember,” he said wearily — “ the brute ! 
Did you catch him ? ” 

“Yes. They’re taking him off to the town. 
Don’t think, Brock. Just lie still.” 

But some other thought had entered his brain, 
for he suddenly half sat up. 

“ How’s Gra?” he asked quickly. 

“ I’m all right, dear,” she answered for herself. 

“ All right ! ” 

She puzzled over the note of astonishment in 
his voice, but Mac shivered violently. 

“ Yes — all right ; of course it was an awful shock, 
Cuth, but I’ve not done anything silly like last 
time.” r 

Cuthbert shut his eyes and frowned. 


CHAPTER XIII 



HIS attack of Brocklehurst’s seemed, strangely 


JL enough, to pull him down more than 
any other he had ever had. He had been so 
wonderfully well before it that MacFarlane had 
hoped that, if there were any other seizures, they 
would be so slight, and lessening so markedly in 
intensity, that soon they would cease altogether. 
He presumed that it was the very fact of his 
patient having been so well that had exaggerated 
the shock, as it were. Anyway, the fact remained 
that he was obliged to keep Brocklehurst in bed 
for three days. He was not at all satisfied with 
his condition. 

He had to leave Gra in charge to a great extent, 
as he was much occupied in the town with the un- 
pleasant preliminaries connected with the trial of 
Antonio Marterello, as the truculent Spaniard was 
called. It promised to be very disagreeable, but 
MacFarlane had saved his friend a great deal of 
extra worry by saying that it was he who had shot 
the horse — his friend had given his card because he, 
MacFarlane, had had none of his own in his pocket. 

As this fact was borne out before the magistrate 
by several witnesses, it could not be contradicted. 


139 


140 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Mac also said that he presumed that the Spaniard 
had mistaken his friend for himself when he 
attacked him on the sea-front. He employed a 
lawyer who could speak French, and this man 
promised that he would save the visitors every 
possible inconvenience — he did not think it would 
be necessary for them to stay for the trial. Mac 
shrugged his shoulders ; he was determined not to 
stay in any case, if the affair dragged out into 
months, as he was told was quite probable. 

He was intensely worried himself. He was not 
blind, and he had realized thoroughly what Brockle- 
hurst’s expression had meant when he had found 
that Gra was quite well after his attack. He was 
prepared for Cuthbert to say that he found it 
necessary to work a little harder, and that there- 
fore he withdrew his promise to work only once a 
fortnight. He spent many sleepless hours over 
the problem, then thought he would try a plan 
that had flashed through his mind as being a 
possible help. 

The third day Brocklehurst was lying in a deck- 
chair outside his bedroom window when Mac joined 
him and felt his pulse. 

“ Yes, you’re decidedly better to-day, Brock,” he 
said cheerfully. “ You. may come down to-morrow.” 

“ High time ! ” grumbled Cuthbert. “ Beastly 
bore all this, just as I was so well.” 

“Yes; I’m furious about it. I wish the brute 
had made for me instead.” 

“ I don’t ; I should probably not have seen him 
coming, and then you’d have been stabbed. Don’t 
you think that would have been a worse shock for 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


141 


me?” He spoke half seriously, half whimsically, 
and Mac laughed. 

“ Well, anyway,” he said, walking to the edge of 
the balcony and looking over, “ I hope this is the 
last attack of any importance. Of course one 
can’t allow for accidents, but, all going well, I don’t 
see why you shouldn’t go on as before. By the 
way, Brock, I’ve been debating in my own mind 
as to whether I ought to tell you something or not. 
I think you ought to know, but, again, I don’t want 
you to fuss.” 

“ I shan’t fuss. What is it? Something about 
this Spaniard ? ” 

“ Oh no ; I told you all there is to be told about 
that. No ; it’s about Gra. If you will promise me 
faithfully not to worry about it I will tell you. It’s 
nothing serious — as yet, but I think you ought to 
know.” 

Brocklehurst sat up, bent forward, and studied 
the doctor’s back. Then he spoke quietly. 

“About Gra? What? You’d better tell me; 
I promise not to worry.” 

Mac came back to his chair and sat down. 

“Well,” he said slowly, “I fear there is just a 
little something wrong with her heart too. I 
would like to examine her, but can’t without 
frightening her. You remember last year when 
you had that bad attack at night? Well, that 
fainting fit she had looked uncommonly like heart 
to me. Then the other night, when I went to 
tell her about you, she turned ghastly — looked 
like death. I gave her some brandy, and I put 
a few drops of something else in it without her 


142 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


knowing. While we were holding your head up 
I felt her pulse without her noticing — I couldn’t 
count it properly of course, but it was very feeble. 
She told you she was all right when you asked, 
but she’d really only begun to recover when she 
saw you moving. I was very bothered about 
her ; I shouldn’t like her to have many more 
shocks.” 

While he had been speaking he had seemingly 
been looking at the trees over Cuthbert’s head, but 
he had the very useful capacity of really seeing an 
object he was not looking at directly — an easy thing 
to do if one concentrates the will — and he had 
remarked the varying expressions on his patient’s 
face : first anxiety, then interest, then a deep 
flush mounting up under the sunburnt skin, and 
finally a curious relief and satisfaction which were 
unmistakable. 

He rejoiced greatly ; he was nearly sure that his 
plan had succeeded. 

He looked right away out to sea, and left the 
man time to recover. 

“ I think you must be mistaken, Mac,” he said at 
last. “ At least, what I mean is that, though Gra 
was affected very strongly by the shock, I fancy it 
was only what one might expect from a girl who 
is intensely highly strung, and who hears that 
a tragedy has only just been avoided. As for 
last year, she was waked suddenly from a sound 
sleep to find me apparently dead, and you know 
yourself how overwhelming that must be. I feel 
sure that there is nothing the matter with her 
heart.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


143 


“ I may be mistaken. I hope I am,” answered 
his companion. “ I certainly had not much time 
to devote to her — you were quite enough to worry 
over ! However, I thought it wise to tell you ; I’m 
glad you aren’t bothered about it.” 

“ No, I’m not anxious. Gra has always been so 
wonderfully strong. You did not say anything to 
her about it ? ” 

“ Oh no ; I did not want her to think that I 
considered it anything more than the natural shock 
to the nerves any one would have had under the 
circumstances.” 

“ That’s right ! I shan’t say anything either ; you 
may be quite sure that’s what it was — just nervous 
shock. Now tell me, how did you get on in the 
town to-day ? ” 

They talked of other things till Gra came up to 
keep her husband company, then MacFarlane went 
out for a long walk. 

His ruse had succeeded ! There was no doubt 
of that. He was getting quite used to lying now 
but he comforted himself with the quotation : “ A 
lie for the sake of mercy is better than the truth 
for the sake of mischief.” 

By his lie this time he was pretty sure he had 
prevented “ mischief.” He would hear nothing of 
Cuthbert’s desire to work oftener at night, Gra 
would not be subjected to that deadly influence 
any more than was the case now. His heart glowed 
with happiness when he realized that undoubtedly 
his own influence was working in her. The other 
night, though he had watched her carefully, he had 
seen no signs such as he had falsely described to 


144 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


her husband. She had been, as far as he could see, 
perfectly normal. He might have been tempted 
again to distrust the whole mad idea if he had not 
caught that look on Cuthbert’s face when he asked 
after Gra. Then to-day, when he was being told 
that series of lies, was there any mistaking the 
expression of triumph, of relief, that he had shown ? 
None — MacFarfane was as sure of the truth of 
his theory as he was sure that he breathed. He 
would never doubt it again. He must go on 
taking precautions, go on working, pit his will 
against that other will ; he must continue week after 
week, month after month, year after year if need 
be. It was a dreary, miserable outlook, but his 
love was strong enough. 

He could not help wondering what would 
happen if Brocklehurst became strong and well 
again, if the lesions healed — as was not absolutely 
unknown — if there was no further need of him as 
constant permanent attendant. In that case would 
Cuthbert give up his horrible design? He foresaw 
a difficulty at which he shuddered. He would 
have to have the matter out with Brocklehurst 
before leaving ; he would have to ask if, now that 
he were well, he had resigned his plot whatever 
it was. He must never seem to have guessed 
what the plot was. He must pretend to think it 
was something occult, or to disbelieve altogether. 
Even when he had consented to come, to give up 
his practice, he had been careful to pretend that 
he did not credit the possibility of harm coming 
to Gra. He had scoffed at the notion, said he did 
not believe in the supernatural, declared that he 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


145 


had decided to acquiesce in Cuthbert’s desire for 
the sake of their old friendship, and because he 
hoped that there was really a chance of pulling him 
round to health. 

He must keep this up always, always. Brockle- 
hurst must never know that the whole thing was 
no secret to him. 

He sighed as he contemplated the lonely years. 
Now at least he was near the woman he loved — 
he could see her every day, and all day. Then he 
would be back in the old ruck of work again — see 
her occasionally for four months in the year, wear 
out his heart with eight months of loneliness. He 
was but human, and it is beyond human strength 
not to hope for happiness. He could honestly 
say to himself that he had never desired Brockle- 
hurst’s death, could declare that he had done 
everything in his power to cure him ; but even that 
being so there was always the dim possibility of 
a future free from care, free from the terrible law 
“ thou shalt not.” It lay faint and unrecognized by 
words, this possibility, like a vague illumination to 
a traveller on a dark lonely waste — an illumination 
so far, so dull, that the weary wanderer cannot 
distinguish between reality and his own imagina- 
tion, but presses on towards it all the same, 
hoping it may be the light at the end of his long 
journey. 

Now he felt that even that dim hope had gone. 
He was sure that his patient was getting well. 
Though he had been quite ill this time after the 
attack, his heart now was beating as strongly 
and regularly as it had done before. Only to the 
10 


146 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


very practised ear was there the faintest sign of 
disease. He was not cured yet, but the doctor 
firmly believed that, rare as it was, a complete cure 
would in this case be achieved. Nine months 
ago he would have said it was utterly impossi- 
ble. In all his experience he had never seen a 
cure, though he had read of the possibility — 
more, read of cases vouched for by doctors of 
repute. 

He could not help being proud, professionally, 
of his skill, he had undoubtedly helped with his not 
inconsiderable knowledge. He had read every 
article in German and French medical papers that 
had appeared on the subject during the last months. 
He had tried a new French drug with marvellous 
results, he had begun giving it after the attack 
in July, and from then till now the patient 
had had no relapse. Even during his illness, 
when all had feared that the strain would be 
fatal, he had had no bad seizure. This time it 
had arisen from physical violence, and was not 
to be wondered at. 

He knew that his ability was not alone re- 
sponsible for the extraordinary cure — if cure it 
were. Brocklehurst’s constitution was a marvel. 
He had always been strong ; he had always led a 
studious, regular life, and that went a long way 
towards aiding medical science. A puny man 
would have been dead long ago. 

MacFarlane’s feelings were very complicated 
where his friend was concerned. He often 
analysed them and wondered. Notwithstanding 
all, he could not kill the old liking. They had 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


147 


been friends from their young manhood days, and 
a friendship like that does not die easily. He was 
sure that Brocklehurst felt the same for him as he 
had always felt, though his wife loved him, though 
he was trying to injure him through this love, yet, 
withal, Mac knew there was no hatred in his friend’s 
heart, any more than there was in his own. He 
often tried to put himself in Cuthbert’s place, and 
wondered if, supposing the possibility had occurred 
to him, he would have acted in the same way. He 
did not think so — but then Brocklehurst was de- 
scended from a long line of Norman ancestors — 
men with primitive emotions and primitive strength. 
The blood in his veins was fierce, passionate blood ; 
he had altered little, if anything, from those old- 
world knights who had fought for their lives and 
their loves with medieval weapons. 

It was certainly a curious situation. MacFarlane 
felt sure that he ought to hate his friend, but he 
could not do so. He had but two intimate friends 
in the world, and he was not changeable. Also he 
could not help feeling in his heart that he had done 
Brocklehurst a deep wrong. That the wrong was 
unwilful did not alter matters. He loved this man’s 
wife, and she loved him. He could not help think- 
ing how Cuthbert must have suffered when he had 
first discovered the state of affairs. He often 
wondered why Gra had not been taken right away, 
why he and she had ever been permitted to meet. 
The husband had not shown by word or sign that 
he was aware of their love, not till that terrible day 
the spring before when the whole world had 
seemed to go to pieces with a sentence. What had 


148 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


been his object in keeping silence ? Had he even 
in those days plotted a deep and horrible revenge ? 
He — Mac — would never know. The thing would 
remain a mystery. 

Probably now, if Brocklehurst recovered his 
health completely, he would weave out some other 
plan, perhaps now the separation would come. 
Mac shuddered as he looked into a black future 
without a sight of the face he loved, or a sound of 
her voice. He felt he could not face it — better 
death. Her goodness he respected and worshipped ; 
never again would he try to break it down. Her 
love of Wee Willie Winkie and her child-like faith 
stood ever between them ; but what harm could it 
do to either of them, or to Cuthbert, to see each 
other, to hear each other’s voice, to know that 
both always remained steadfast and true ? Separa- 
tion could not change them, that he knew ; it 
would only wear their hearts away in a great 
loneliness and bitterness. 

If Cuthbert ever suggested it, he made up his 
mind to pray him to be merciful. He was sure 
that they were not suspected of wrong; his friend 
was clever enough to know that their hearts had a 
great barrier between them raised by Gra. He 
would plead for the mercy of the sight of her — would 
tell him, if need be, of his hopeless appeal to her, 
would swear always to love and suffer in silence. 
Could any man be so hard, so cruel, as to refuse 
such poor relief from torture ? 

He turned homewards dazed and wretched. He 
had worked himself up to a pitch of misery hard 
to bear. Probably, too, it was unnecessary — very 


SHADOW-SHAPES 1 49 

likely Brocklehurst was thinking of nothing of the 
kind. He must wait in patience, and hope. 

He shook back his shoulders, as though he were 
shaking off a heavy burden, and looked up at the 
sky — an iridescent globe reddening to sunset. 


CHAPTER XIV 


“ T T’S most extraordinary,” said Gra, one even- 

1 ing. “ I always had an idea that the lower 
classes took their holidays in August — they cer- 
tainly used to in my younger days. Yet here 
they are in swarms. I suppose they read in the 
papers of Lord and Lady So-and-so going away 
in the winter, and they think it’s rather swagger 
to do likewise.” 

“ What I can’t understand is how they can afford 
it,” remarked Cuthbert. “ Though it is wonder- 
fully cheap for the distance, yet it must — even by 
trippers’ tickets — cost them twenty-five or thirty 
pounds each, with tips and things. Yet there’s 
a family of four over there who appear green- 
grocers or something.” 

“ No, they’re not,” laughed Gra. “ Pa keeps a 
milk-shop in the Harrow Road, and ma helps with 
the books. I’m sure I’m right.” 

“ Do you see that man over there ? ” asked Mac. 
“ No — the one with a red fringe of hair. I spoke 
to him before dinner. I said, ‘ How do you think 
you’ll like Las Palmas?’ He answered, ‘ Wal, it 
seems vary dull. I think I’d ’ave ’ad more fon in 
Blaackpool.’ As a matter of fact, these people 
150 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


151 


are mostly North of Englanders ; they are a very 
saving race.’’ 

“ I asked that thin, stooping man over there if 
he’d come for his health,” grinned Brocklehurst. 
He stared at me blankly and said, 4 Noa, I jes’ 
coom ! ’ He’s a Yorkshire farmer.” 

Gra laughed ; then she said seriously : 

“ As a matter of fact, I don’t mind that kind 
of person at all. It’s the pretentious suburban 
I loathe — those four females who overdress, for 
instance. I call them the ‘butter-scotches,’ because 
they’re so sticky ! They won’t speak to any one — 
any woman, I mean ; they’ve picked up with all 
the third-rate Spanish men at the Casino. They 
gave themselves awful airs on board the boat, 
Mrs. Stuart tells me ; the two unmarried ones said 
that they had ‘ a large allowance from their father!’ 
Also they impressed on every one that they kept 
a motor at home ! I suppose that is the height 
of grandeur for them. It is really awfully funny.” 

“ That man and his little boy are so funny,” said 
Mac. “ The hospital nurse seems so unnecessary ; 
the boy plays about all right.” 

“M. or N.,” grinned Brocklehurst. 

Gra stared for a moment, then covered her face 
and shook. 

“ Oh, Cuth, you are vulgar ! ” 

“ Well, my dear, I only ” 

“ Never mind, it’s awfully funny. I must tell 
‘ the Duchess.’ I wonder how I shall get on in 
the whist drive to-morrow ? Last time I nearly 
got the booby prize.” 

It was natural that a little scandal should be 


152 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


talked ; there was not much else to do. A concert 
now and then, when any talent was staying in the 
hotel, occasionally a whist drive, got up by Mr. 
Ratherson, and the weekly excitement over the 
mail, were about the only things that broke the 
monotony. Yet every one was happy ; how could 
they help being so in such a lovely climate ? 

Nearly every day the Brocklehursts would walk 
up to the rose-garden as they called it — a nursery 
garden kept by two sad-eyed dark women ; but 
such a garden ! No rows and rows of flowers, 
but a wild tangle of beauty and scent. They 
presumed the younger woman had a husband, as, 
when Gra wanted to pick some orange-blossom, 
her dark eyes would glance round in fear, and she 
would say her husband would be angry. But 
MacFarlane would smile at her, she would smile 
back, and Gra nearly always had her sweet-scented 
blossom. There were puppies and kittens and 
baby-goats up at this enchanted spot, and Gra 
would play with all the young things like a child. 
She was quite content in Las Palmas ; she felt she 
could stay for ever. Yet in little over a month 
they were going home — to London this time, to 
see a little of the Season. She loved the whole 
thing ; loved the Spanish women peeping through 
their persianas, though she objected to the way 
they covered their beautiful olive skins with cheap 
white powder ; loved the lithe, bright-eyed lovers 
standing outside on the pavement (a Spanish 
woman may only talk through the open shutter to 
her lover : to meet outside is bad form) ; loved the 
dirty children swarming everywhere in enormous 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


153 


numbers, some clothed only in an abbreviated 
shirt ; loved the curious one-storied, flat-roofed 
houses, the groups of men gambling at the corners 
of th e plazas, the tartanas with their cool curtains, 
the fat duennas walking with the stiff young girls, 
the cows being led round with their calves from 
door to door, and milked on the spot while the 
mistress of the house stood by waiting for the mug 
or jug to be filled. She loved and took an interest 
in everything. It was only the starved mules 
that spoiled things for her. In the town things 
were better ; for this reason she kept away from 
the port. 

For some weeks after the incident of the horse 
they found themselves celebrities. They could 
not enter the town without being pointed at, and 
if they alighted at a shop there would soon be 
a small crowd of idlers round the door, staring half 
in amusement, half in admiration. Gra was furious 
at first, but she became used to it, and soon the 
interest died down as some other excitement came 
to the fore. 

As to the Spaniard, Antonio, he was still awaiting 
his trial, and they heard no more about him. They 
had been given permission to leave the island when 
their time was up, their evidence had been taken 
down and sworn to, and the case was exceedingly 
simple. Stabbing was too usual an occurrence in 
the Canaries to make any difficulty about the 
proceedings. The only difference was that this time 
the offence was against a visitor ; and magistrate, 
police, and lawyers, all talking together with much 
excitement and indignation, assured them that it 


154 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


was the first time such a thing had occurred — in 
fact, this appeared to be true, they could find no 
record of such a happening before. 

They were all three sorry when the time came 
for them to leave. They had put it off from week 
to week till the end of April ; at last they made up 
their minds to tear themselves away. 

MacFarlane, the day before they were to leave, 
went for a stroll along the sands, at low tide, with 
Brocklehurst. He felt he must have his future 
decided. His patient was so well now that he 
really did not need a permanent doctor any longer. 
His heart ached, but he was too honest to continue 
drawing his large salary for nothing, and he knew 
that he must open the subject. It was a difficult 
thing to do, and he felt somewhat awkward. 

When he began, Cuthbert listened to him quietly ; 
then he said, with an amused smile : 

“ You’re so confoundedly conscientious, Mac! 
I knew you would burst this on me soon, and 
I’ve been thinking over it. Now, honestly, am I 
perfectly cured — without any doubt whatever ? ” 

MacFarlane hesitated. 

“ It’s difficult to say that for certain,” he said 
slowly. “ As far as I can see, there is very little 
wrong. You’ll have to go slow for some time, of 
course ; and I don’t think you’ll ever be able to do 
all you did before. Hunting, for instance, might 
easily make you bad again, and you must never 
overfatigue yourself. But what I mean is, that you 
don’t need me to see after you now — you only 
require a reasonable amount of common sense. You 
must give me your word not to do mad things — I 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


155 


don’t want to have had all my trouble for nothing, 
to see you go back to the old state. But you’re not 
a fool, Brock, and I think you’ve had a lesson.” 

'‘Yes — oh I shall not cut a dash, you may be 
sure of that, old chap.” He stopped, and walked 
a little way without speaking ; then he went on 
quietly : “ I have been thinking over this, and 
I fancy you may agree to what I propose. It’s 
like this. You gave up your work and everything 
for me ; it will take you some time to settle down 
again to the old routine. I propose to do this : 
I will continue what I am giving you till the end 
of the year — no, don’t protest, please, it is just. 
Then I want you to be with us for July, till your 
year with us is up. We shall be in town till 
June — Gra doesn’t want to stay till the end of the 
season ; after that we shall go to Wane’s. In 
August we shall go up to Scotland. I want you 
to stay till we go north. Your rooms in Curzon 
Street are prepared for you, so that makes no 
bother. Then you can have the rest of the year 
to look about you and settle down — send out 
notices, or whatever you doctors do, to your old 
patients. By the beginning of next year you ought 
to be in the swim again. I particularly want to 
keep you till you can say positively that I am 
cured, and I shan’t feel easy unless you are there. 
And, Mac ” (he hesitated, looked at the sea, and 
poked the sand with his stick) “ I — I — er — want to 
thank you for all you’ve done. It’s entirely owing 
to you that I am so well ; I quite realize what a lot 
of trouble and thought you have put into the case, 
and I — er — I’m deeply grateful.” 


156 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Rot ! ” 

Two Englishmen, one of whom is thanking the 
other for saving his life, are the most awkward, 
shy, and uneasy beings possible to be seen on the 
earth. They were both red, and they looked away 
from each other, and started with one accord to 
walk faster. 

“Well?” said Brocklehurst at last. “ Will you 
do what I ask ? I ask it as a great favour.” 

How could MacFarlane refuse ? Three more 
months in the beloved presence ! It was not 
possible to resist it. He accepted. 

He saw that now was not the moment to speak 
about Gra. He must leave that till the day of his 
departure. Time enough then to find out what 
his friend’s feelings were in the matter. 

He was happy. He had been rather low-spirited 
lately when he thought of his decision to leave 
them on reaching London. Now a great weight 
seemed fallen from his mind, he would not think 
of the future, he would be happy — as happy as he 
could be — for three months longer. 

This time the Wane was ordered to go to 
Plymouth. The sea was gloriously smooth, and 
the sun was hot. But alas ! how can one tell ? 
Before the terrible Bay was sighted the sky clouded 
over and the waves came rolling against the yacht’s 
sides with accumulated strength. Gra retired to 
her cabin. She was very ill indeed, and had only 
one wish — to go to the bottom and end this 
misery. MacFarlane attended her tenderly, and 
tried everything he could think of to alleviate 
her torture. At last he gave her morphia, 


SHADOW-SHAPES 157 

which seemed to be the only thing that helped 
her. 

It was a draggled, drawn-faced Gra that was 
carried up on deck at last — the day before their 
arrival. She lay listless and white on a deck- 
chair, not caring to read or talk. But the next 
morning she was well again, and smiled upon the 
world with deep content. 

A slight mist hung over Plymouth as they 
steamed into the Sound at one o’clock ; but the 
sun was doing its best to pierce through the 
haze. 

In London it was pouring with rain, and Gra 
shivered with disgust. At the station Cuthbert 
sent his valet to telephone to Curzon Street to 
tell the servants to light fires in all the rooms. 
They were a shivering group that huddled into the 
carriage sent to meet them. 

“ Has it been like this all the time, Jenkins ? ” 
asked Cuthbert of the coachman. 

“ Well, sir, not quite so bad, as you might say. 
We’ve had a bit o’ rain since the second, but last 
Thursday was quite sunny off and on.” 

“ Quite sunny off and on,” quoted Gra bitterly, 
“four days ago. Ugh! And if we saw no sun 
for two or three hours at Las Palmas every one was 
growling and grizzling. What a climate we have 
in this country of ours ! ” 

Arrived at the house, they made for the fires, 
and warmed their chilled bodies. 

“ Mac,” said Gra, “just tell them to light fires in 
Cecile’s and Lightfoot’s rooms too ; they’ll need 
it, poor things, as much as we. I wonder whether 


158 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Lightfoot will still be glad to get back to his 
beloved country. He hated Las Palmas, I believe ; 
he always wore his most disapproving look. He 
couldn’t have looked severer if Cuth had insisted 
on putting on brown boots with a frock coat, or a 
top hat with a jacket suit.” 

Brocklehurst laughed. 

“ I tackled him about it one day, and he was 
‘resigned.’ I could have kicked him. I hate 
people who are resigned. He said that as it was 
doing me so much good he was only too pleased ; 
‘ for himself he couldn’t see what was the good 
of them furriners,’ and suggested that it was very 
remiss of the English not to go out and collar the 
islands, and turn out the Spanish.” 

“ Well,” cried Gra hopefully, “ anyway, one thing 
is jolly — to see one’s own things again. And 
wont it be nice to sit down to a table with decent 
silver and glass ? Come on, let’s go and dress ; I 
expect the servants have arrived by now.” 

Gra was in high spirits notwithstanding the 
dismal weather and her past agonies on the yacht. 
She too refused to look forward into the future, 
and would think only that she was to keep Mac 
with her for three months more. She tried to “ be 
good,” poor child, but she could not help the joy 
she felt in her lover’s presence. Cuthbert she was 
very fond of in a “pally” way, but, try as she 
would, she could not love him as she knew she 
ought to do. She had given her heart to Mac- 
Farlane, and what she had once given she could 
not take back. All she could do was to keep 
watch and ward over herself, so that never by 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


159 


word or sign should she break down as she had 
broken down twice before. She was determined 
that she would be strong — strong as only a good 
woman can be. She knew that if she tempted 
him his good resolutions would go, and leave only 
the passionately tender lover. She quite realized 
that all lay in her hands, and she sighed that it 
should be so. Men are supposed to be strong and 
women weak, but she found, as many others had 
found before her, that where love is concerned, it 
is quite the opposite. 

It is well that women are given a mental strength 
quite out of proportion to their weak bodies ; life 
would be a dreary pilgrimage if it were not so, and 
unhappiness would be a thousandfold greater than 
it is. 


CHAPTER XV 


BOUT a fortnight after the return to London 



Jr\ a sale took place of a very important 
private collection of coins. For days before, 
Brocklehurst was deep in catalogues and reference 
books, and Gra could hardly persuade him to 
go out with her. He was thoroughly enjoying 
himself, and MacFarlane teased him about his 
“ worn bits of metal,” as he disrespectfully called 
the magnificent collection. 

When the great day came, Cuthbert, with Mac 
in attendance, was early at the sale-room, walking 
round with a magnifying-glass and sheaves of 
annotated lists. He was very excited and inter- 
ested, and when the sale began he was installed in 
a corner near the auctioneer, who watched him 
carefully, ready to accept the nod of one of the 
best-known numismatologists in England. 

Half-way through the morning he v/as worked up 
to a state of irritation by a German who bid up 
the price for one particular lot that Cuthbert had 
set his heart upon. He was determined to get it, 
but it certainly was most annoying to have to give 
a price far beyond what he had marked as the 
outside limit any one would bid to. A few pounds 


160 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


161 


more or less made no difference to him, but the 
aggravating part of it was that he knew his rival 
was running it up for spite. The two men had 
recently been at loggerheads over a much-dis- 
cussed problem in a German technical paper, and 
the Englishman had been proved to be in the 
right. He had closed the discussion by a dignified 
retort to the German’s somewhat rabid attack 
on him in particular, and the English race in 
general. 

The German stood in the corner nodding and 
nodding like a Chinese mandarin. He had little 
fat hands which he kept clutched round the 
catalogue, his head was round, his face was red, 
and he had a greedy smile. 

Brocklehurst answered nod with nod, and 
clenched his teeth. Then suddenly his face 
brightened, and he put up his hand to hide the 
grin he could not help giving. Standing on the 
other side of MacFarlane he noticed a man whom 
he knew was a friend of the German. He bent 
towards Mac and whispered so that the stranger 
could hear : 

“ I don’t want the things a bit ! I’m only 
running them up to amuse myself. I’m going 
to leave off in a minute, then you just watch 
Goertz’s face when he’s left with them on his 
hands.” 

He nodded to the interrogative auctioneer, and 
out of the corner of his eye watched the man who 
had overheard his remark sidle round the room 
and stand behind the German. He saw him 
whisper something, saw the red face get redder 
11 


162 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


and the mouth fall open, then the auctioneer 
looked at it. 

“And you, sir?” he asked;; but the German 
shook his head. 

Brocklehurst chuckled, and he could not resist 
throwing a smile of triumph over at Goertz’s 
friend as the hammer came down. Goertz noticed 
it and turned on his friend with fury. 

MacFarlane laughed. 

“ Well done, Brock ! Did you know that he 
was a friend of Goertz’s ? ” 

“ Of course I did,” chuckled Cuthbert ; “ that's 
why I said it. All’s fair in love and sales. Come 
along, I’ve got all I want for to-day. To-morrow 
there are one or two lots I must bid for, but 
the rest to-day are no good.” 

When they returned home Brocklehurst looked 
tired, and MacFarlane noticed that his face was 
rather haggard. He had consented to him going 
to the sale, but he had not anticipated the incident 
of Goertz, and he saw that it had overexcited 
his friend. He took the catalogue and reference 
books away by force, and, after lunch, he insisted 
that Cuthbert should lie down. 

Gra looked worried. 

“ Is there anything wrong ? ” she asked anxiously. 

“ Nothing serious, I think, but that fight agitated 
him, and I fancy it’s best to keep him quiet. I 
wonder whether he will trust to-morrow to me.” 

But Brocklehurst would not allow any one to 
bid for him. Luckily the obnoxious German 
was absent, so the purchases went off easily ; but 
he was not himself — he looked tired and ill. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


163 


That night MacFarlane knew he would have 
to watch, and he hoped that Cuthbert would 
be sensible enough to give up his fortnightly 
work. 

The night after their arrival he had subjected 
his wife to the usual suggestion. Mac wondered if 
it were ever to cease. Now the fortnight was up, 
and, though he trusted it would be useless, he 
took up his post at one o’clock in the dressing- 
room. 

They had all three been to a dinner-party, and 
had not returned till half-past eleven, so he knew 
it would be no use watching before one. He 
feared that his friend would not give up his pur- 
pose to-night — the next night the Brocklehursts 
were going to a theatre, and.afterwards to a supper- 
party at the Savoy, so that night would be out 
of the question. 

Sure enough, shortly after he was at his post, 
Brocklehurst rose from his bed and went across to 
Gra’s. But to-night there was something new, and 
Mac’s nerves were on edge. Usually the suggestion 
was given silently — there were no words. To-night, 
after the preliminary passes, Brocklehurst bent over 
his wife, and spoke softly. 

“Tell me, Gra, what are your orders? What 
have you been commanded to do ? ” 

Mac got in a panic. Suppose she said : “ To 
live on to the limit of my natural life.” Good 
God ! Then Brocklehurst would suspect, nay, 
would know , that some one else had been tamper- 
ing with her. 

What should he do ? He had no time to think. 


164 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


He leant forward, his soul seemed to go out of 
him and hang over that bed. 

“ Say nothing. Don’t answer. Be silent. Do 
you hear? Be silent — I command you not to 
answer.” 

He flung out his will with an agony of strength, 
the sweat rolled off him as it had in those early 
days, his hands were clenched till the nails bit into 
the palms, his face was white with fear. 

Gra moved slightly and uneasily, and rolled her 
head on the pillow. 

Cuthbert made a few more passes, then repeated 
his question. 

“ Answer me. What have you been commanded 
to do ? ” 

Gra opened her lips. 

“To — to — li ” she began. Then was silent. 

Could the power of that waiting, watching, agonized 
man really give sufficient force across the inter- 
vening space to close her lips? It seemed so, for 
she rolled her head again, and there was a worried 
frown on her brow. 

Again her husband repeated the question, bend- 
ing lower till his face nearly touched hers. For 
half an hour the fight went on, and she never 
opened her lips again. Then Cuthbert, staggering 
slightly, went to a table and poured himself out 
some drops always placed there by the doctor 
in case of emergency. Then he made the passes 
to bring back Gra to her natural sleep, but, what 
had never happened before, she awoke, and stared 
at her husband. 

“ I was just going to wake you,” he said menda- 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


165 


ciously. “ I felt queer. I’ve just taken the 
drops.” 

Mac closed the door quietly and ran back to his 
room ; he feared that Gra would ring for him. 
They had the same arrangement of alarm-bell 
here as at Wane’s Ferry. 

He sank into a chair, trembling from head to 
foot, then he crawled to his medicine-cupboard and 
measured himself out a strong dose of caffeine. 

The bell did not ring. What should he do ? 

In five minutes he again went down softly to 
the first floor, and listened at the door of the 
bedroom. He heard Gra saying something — he 
could not distinguish the words — then Brockle- 
hurst’s deeper tones saying he was better, and 
that it was unnecessary. He presumed Gra had 
suggested he should be called. 

Then he heard Cuthbert yawn wearily. Gra 
moved about the room a little longer ; then he 
heard a bed creak. 

He crept into the dressing-room and peered 
through the peephole he had made for himself 
here as at Wane’s. They were both in bed. Gra 
was turning restlessly, but her husband lay still. 
He waited there till three o’clock, shivering in 
his wet pyjamas. He did not dare leave till he 
was sure that they were both asleep. 

And what a weary time of thinking he had till it 
was time to get up. He never closed his eyes. 
The shock had been terrible for him. He went 
over in his thoughts the half-hour of strain again 
and again. If he had not succeeded — if she had 
spoken — what would have been the result? Brockle- 


166 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


hurst would have suspected him — he felt sure of 
that, for whom else could he suspect ? That some 
one had influenced Gra with a contrary suggestion 
to his own would have been apparent, and could 
it be any one else but MacFarlane? If this had 
happened he knew that all his work would have 
been undone — useless. Brocklehurst would have 
made an excuse for getting him out of the house, 
and would then have gone on with his plot, sub- 
jecting Gra to his will day after day till he had her 
completely under control. 

For many weeks MacFarlane had not been so 
anxious about the result as he had been the year 
before. He was convinced that his friend was going 
to get well — anyway that, barring accidents, he 
would live for years ; but, notwithstanding his 
hope, he had continued to influence Gra with 
suggestion, he wished to oust that other horrible 
idea from her subconscious mind. He did not 
think now that it much mattered ; Brocklehurst 
would live till he was old, probably, and, as years 
went on, he would forget about his diabolical plan, 
and leave Gra in peace. 

But this questioning of the subject upset his 
calculations. Brocklehurst would be uneasy and 
suspicious — not of him, he did not think that 
possible, but of his own power — and that might 
lead to complications. What these complications 
might be, he could not guess, but he was soon to 
know. 

At breakfast Cuthbert opened his letters as 
usual, and by and by he gave an exclamation 
of pleasure. Gra looked up. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


167 


“ They’ve asked me to do the numismatology 
article for the new encyclopaedia,” he said trium- 
phantly ; “ it’s really rather an honour.” 

“ Oh I am so glad, Cuth. It is indeed an 
honour.” 

MacFarlane added his hearty congratulations. 
But he was not quite so pleased an hour or so 
afterwards, when Brocklehurst and he were sitting 
in the library. 

Cuthbert was muddling about with some papers, 
and he coughed once or twice, then spoke in a 
rather unnatural voice. 

“ I say, Mac, this work will be a rather stiff 
job. Er — I suppose I’m strong enough now to 
undertake it all right?” 

MacFarlane was utterly unsuspicious. He was, as 
a matter of fact, delighted that his friend had been 
offered the work — he thought it would take his 
mind off other things, and occupy him in the 
science that interested him more than any other. 
So he answered unhesitatingly : 

“Yes, certainly. Writing is far better for you 
than fagging about at sales and things. I think 
it will do you no harm at all.” 

“ That’s all right.” Brocklehurst went to a shelf 
and ran his eye along the books and hummed. 
Then he added quietly: “Well, I’ve got to do 
some at night, you know. I always could work 
better at night ; you’re quite aware of that. I 
must do an hour or two’s work in. my old way.” 

MacFarlane gasped. What a fool he had been 
to fall into a trap like this. 

“ That’s a totally different thing, Brock,” he said 


168 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


hurriedly. “ I won’t have all my work undone by 
your idiotic fancy for night work. You can work 
perfectly well in the day — you know you can. 
Those articles you wrote at Las Palmas were as 
good as anything you’ve ever done — in fact it’s 
probably those that have got you this offer.” 

“ Yes ; but that air was different. I never seem 
to be able to write in England. You remember 
at Oxford the rotten stuff I turned out in the 
day. I could get nothing into my head unless 
I studied at night. No, I must work at night, 
once or twice a week. You’ve said yourself that I 
was strong now.” 

“Strong enough for ordinary work,” cried his 
companion irritably, “ but not for turning night 
into day.” 

“ Don’t be silly — ‘ night into day ! ’ You know 
that I never sit up all night, but I must have a 
little time, my brain is clearer — problems seem to 
illuminate themselves, somehow, at night. I 
might have done it without telling you, but I’d 
given my promise, and I wished to do the straight 
thing.” 

“ I won’t release you from your promise,” Mac 
burst out in a rage. “ You gave it me, and I 
won’t have you take it back.” 

Cuthbert laughed. 

“ Well, I take it back myself. I have a perfect 
right to. I have not been underhand, I’ve told 
you frankly. And I’m going to do it, so there ! ” 

MacFarlane bounced up from his chair. 

“ You’re a damned fool ! ” 

His temper, usually under perfect control, was 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


169 


flaming ; perhaps his sleepless night had something 
to do with it. 

Brocklehurst wheeled round. 

“ All right,” he said cheerfully. u Anyway, Pll 
continue to be one. Look here, Mac, what’s all 
the bother about? I’ll go to bed at half-past one 
or two, and, if you like, I’ll be called later. I don’t 
see what difference it can make. You said I could 
go to theatres and things, and stay up late some- 
times, so where’s the harm in working instead ? ” 

Then Mac saw he had made a fool of himself, 
and went more cautiously. 

“ Amusement is another thing.” 

“ My work is my amusement. It’s much more 
entertaining and much less fag than a stupid 
reception.” 

MacFarlane was thoughtful. 

“ Don’t you see ? ” persisted his companion. 

“ There’s one thing against it,” said the doctor 
slowly. “You always work in your bedroom. 
You go to bed, sleep for a little, then get up and 
start working. It’s a rotten plan. The whole 
atmosphere gets permeated with strain — oh, you 
may laugh, but it’s a fact — and you don’t get the 
same restful sleep afterwards as you ought to get. 
At Oxford at least you used to work in the sitting- 
room, and go to bed after in a fresh, airy room — 
that’s not so bad. Will you do that now ? Mind, 
I’d much prefer you to do no work at night, but 
if you will do it, at least work down here, then 
go up and have a bath, and get to bed freshened 
up.” 

Brocklehurst shrugged his shoulders. 


170 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ All right,” he said indifferently. “If that’s any 
satisfaction to you, I can do that. I will work in 
here, and go up after.” 

“ And go straight to bed ? ” asked Mac sus- 
piciously. 

It was Cuthbert’s turn to get angry, and his 
anger was no half-measures. 

“ I won’t be bullied like a naughty child ! ” he 
shouted. “ I shall do as I damn well please. If 
I find I think of anything when I get upstairs I 
shall do it. I’m sick of being ordered about. I’m 
perfectly strong now, and it’s just because you 
love hectoring and lecturing that you want me 
to do things just in your way.” 

“ You’re an obstinate idiot ! ” 

“ And you’re an interfering, pompous ass ! ” 

The two angry men stood facing each other, 
their eyes flashing, their voices raised. 

Gra opened the door and stood gazing at them 
in astonishment. 

“ Good heavens ! What on earth is the matter ? 
You look as if you were going to fight.” 

Both men began explaining at once, and Gra 
put her hands over her ears. 

“ Oh, do get cool,” she pleaded, half laughing. 
“Now, Cuth, explain.” 

If a torrent of incoherent fault-finding is ex- 
planation, Gra got it. She sat down and waited 
patiently, then she turned to Mac. He was hardly 
more coherent, but, piecing together the two 
speeches, Gra seemed, more by intuition than any- 
thing else, to get some idea of the reason of the 
row. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 171 

At the end she looked from one to the other 
gravely. 

“ Then,” she said at last, “ if I understand aright, 
you give Cuth permission to work sometimes at 
night, as long as he works down here ? That 
seems quite fair, Cuth.” 

“ Rot ! ” exploded her husband. “ I’m going to do 
as I choose. I won’t be bullied ” — the reiteration 
seemed to please him — “ I am going to work where 
and how I please. I’ve consented to write down 
here, but if I think of something upstairs I’m 
certainly going to do it.” 

Then he suddenly whirled round and faced 
MacFarlane again. 

“ What’s at the bottom of this ? ” he asked, and 
his voice was suspicious. 

This cooled the doctor effectually ; it would 
never do for Cuthbert to suspect that there was 
any reason for his objections other than he had 
already given. 

He looked straight at him steadily. 

“Nothing,” he answered — “nothing but what I 
have told you. I know strenuous effort vitiates 
the atmosphere, and it’s better for you to write 
down here.” 

“Very well. I promise not to write in my 
room. There! If I think of a thing I’ll just note 
it down — I won’t write.” 

Mac turned away with a sigh. He had fought 
and lost. All the old nightly watching must 
recommence ; and the fight would be harder, he 
knew. He must think and think, and see if hard 
thought could circumvent the new difficulty. 


172 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Was Cuthbert mad ? He began to think he must 
be. He was practically well, yet he would not 
give up his old hateful desire. Gra must answer 
when he asked her the question again — must 
answer, but not obey. How could that be ? 

What could he do? He had fought, lost his 
temper, been undignified, and all for nothing. 

All that day he puzzled and worried, and even 
when he fell into a deep sleep after lunch, wearied 
out, he dreamt of the maze of difficulties. Could 
he ever find the way out of the maze? He 
wondered. 


CHAPTER XVI 


I T was just at this time that MacFarlane met 
Hippolyte Grandjean. When he saw him 
first he chuckled at the inappropriateness of the 
name, but when he knew the man better he found 
that it was his real name, not a nom de guerre , 
as he had fancied. He also no longer thought 
it inappropriate — there is a bigness of soul as well 
as of body. 

He was walking in the Park the morning after 
the quarrel with Brocklehurst, he was feeling dull 
and worried, also tired out. He had watched the 
night before from his post in the dressing-room, 
and had had the same fight — Brocklehurst willing 
his hypnotized wife to speak, he willing her to say 
nothing. He knew this could not go on, but as 
yet he had thought of no plan — he could think 
of no plan, his brain felt like wet wool. 

He was gazing absent-mindedly at the carriages 
passing, when he was hailed by a high, excitable 
voice, and saw a victoria drawing up at the railings. 
A woman of a somewhat fatigued prettiness held 
out her hand to him. 

“ So you’re back, Dr. MacFarlane ? How glad 
every one must be. I must come and see you 
173 


174 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


again ; I’m sure you’ll find something wrong 
with my heart this time — I’ve been doing too 
much.’' 

Mrs. Brendell-Stephens had come to him the 
year before, when it was the fashion to have some 
disease. Her heart was perfectly normal, but she 
was most disappointed when he told her so. She 
was a well-known society woman, and was never 
happy unless she had at least six engagements for 
each day. She also had many fads, not fads like 
those of Lady Ethersbury, who at least improved 
her mind with them, however short a time they 
lasted. No ; hers were the last new crazes of the 
moment. Beauty-culture (of the face), French 
bull-dogs, “ classic ” dancing, diseases, had all 
had their turn ; the last thing with which she had 
startled her friends was soap-bubbles. She had 
given a large reception at which every individual 
was supplied with a bowl of soap-suds and a long 
clay pipe, and she had offered prizes for the best 
bubbles. 

She was restless and unsatisfied, always looking 
out for something new, always tiring of it when 
found. 

Now she leant towards MacFarlane with a 
serious face. 

“ If I’d known you were back I would have sent 
you an invitation for to-night. You must come, 
doctor — I insist upon it. I’ve got the most wonder- 
ful man — I discovered him a month ago by 
accident. Our car broke down at an awful little 
place called — oh, Stokington, or Bokington, or 
Rokington, or something, and they couldn’t get it 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


175 


mended for hours. So we went to an entertain- 
ment in the town-hall. It was killing , simply 
killing ! Then this man came on ; it was quite 
another thing. IVe never seen anything so mar- 
vellous. I got him to come to town, and have 
procured him heaps of engagements. He’s a huge 
success. He’s coming to me to-night. You really 
must come.” 

She had spoken, as her habit was, without paus- 
ing for breath, and MacFarlane had no chance to 
speak. Now he said quietly that he had not 
returned to work yet, and was staying with friends 
professionally. 

“ Oh, I know — the Brocklehursts,” broke in the 
lady. “ How is the poor man — better ? Oh, I’m so 
glad. But you must come to me. I know they 
won’t mind. I don’t know them, or I would ask 
them too.” 

MacFarlane knew that he could easily go if 
he wished it. Cuthbert had insisted, when mak- 
ing the original arrangement, that he was to 
keep his own friends, and go out when he chose. 
But he had no heart for entertainments, though 
he knew he was free this night, as he had, by 
dint of much patient pressure, made Brockle- 
hurst promise that he would never “ work ” two 
nights in succession. No ; he wished to be quiet 
and think. He was just about to say he had 
an important engagement, when Mrs. Stephens 
gave an exclamation. 

“ Oh ! how stupid I am ! I’ve never told you 
what my discovery is. I particularly want you to 
come because you are so clever, and, like all doctors, 


176 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


a terrible sceptic, I fear. But you can't refuse 
to believe in Hippolyte Grandjean, he’s a marvel. 
You think me a silly little thing, I know” (archly), 
“ but this time I do know what I’m talking about. 
He’s a Frenchman, of course (and he speaks Eng- 
lish), and he’s the most extraordinary hypnotist I’ve 
ever seen — and I’ve seen many. He can do just 
what he likes with every one — the most astonish- 
ing power. He just points from the platform to 
any one he picks out in the room, and they just 
have to do what he wants. My dear doctor, I can 
assure you that he made Lord Gunnersbourne 
stand up on his chair and wave his handkerchief 
the other day at the Wallesburys’ reception. Gout 
and all, mind you ! he hopped up like a child, and 
beamed on every one as if he were doing something 
clever.” 

MacFarlane suddenly bent forward, interested. 

“ Is that a fact ? ” 

“ A fact — I swear it ! and you can’t accuse 
Gunnersbourne of being a confederate. He has 

most well, I cant describe to you what he is. 

Will you come and see for yourself? ” 

“ Where did he get the power ? ” asked Mac- 
Farlane. 

“ He says he has always had it. As a child he 
used to hypnotize the fowls and the dogs at his 
home. One of his uncles had the power too, and 
Hippolyte says it was before hypnotism was 
understood, and his uncle was stoned by the 
villagers for being a sorcerer. Now, you will come, 
won’t you ? — ten o’clock sharp ; and, though you 
don’t believe me now, you will see it is true when 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


177 


you come. He reads thoughts too in the queerest 
way ; I have to think of nothing when he’s there, 
I’m so afraid. He called out the other day to 
Tommy Dowl (you know Tommy?) that it was no 
use going to Norway, ‘ she ’ wouldn’t be there ! Of 
course we didn’t know what he meant, but Tommy 
did — he got crimson.” 

“Yes, I’ll come, Mrs. Stephens. Many thanks 
for asking me. I’m sure it will be interesting.” 

“ You can set him any tests you like,” cried the 
lady as she was whirled away. 

He did not know why he had decided to go — 
the man was probably a fraud ; Mrs. Stephens was 
renowned for finding the most weird people to 
perform at her house — anything for a new sensation, 
seemed to be her motto. However, he’d accepted 
on the spur of the moment, more because he had 
the word “ hypnotism ” on the brain than for any 
other reason. 

When he arrived he found Mrs. Stephens’s huge 
drawing-room turned into a theatre with rows of 
chairs, and at one end a platform. 

The place was crowded with a laughing, chatter- 
ing, well-dressed throng. 

He greeted several friends, and found a chair 
next to Crampton the composer, whom he knew 
slightly. 

Mrs. Stephens was rushing about from acquaint- 
ance to acquaintance talking excitedly, and dis- 
tributing her staccato smile on one and all. Then 
she held up her hand and said : “ Hush ! here he 
comes ” ; and Hippolyte Grandjean came on to the 
platform from a door at the side. 

12 


178 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


MacFarlane smiled, he could not help it — the man 
was so droll in appearance. His height was about 
five feet two, he had very small hands and feet, 
the former curiously pointed and white. His head 
was remarkable, very high and egg-shaped, though 
across the forehead was a most uncommon width, 
accentuated by its baldness, as the long, dark, 
straight hair did not begin till the very centre of 
the crown. His eyebrows met over a hooked 
nose, and under them was a pair of the most 
uncanny light eyes MacFarlane had ever seen. 
He puzzled as to what eyes they reminded him of, 
and could not think — some animal’s, he knew that. 
The pupils were very small, mere pin-points, like 
those of a person under the influence of morphia. 
The mouth was hidden by a ridiculous black 
moustache, the hairs of which partly drooped, 
partly bristled, and his chin looked as if a piece 
had been cut out of it, so deep was the cleft. His 
age was difficult to guess — probably about forty, 
MacFarlane thought. 

“ Queer-looking brute ! ” muttered Crampton. 

MacFarlane nodded. 

“Yes. But powerful. Also trustworthy. One 
thing I’m sure of, he believes in himself ; whatever 
he does there’s no cheating about it.” 

He whispered the words to his companion as he 
looked at the little figure on the platform. Then, 
to his utter surprise, the big head nodded at him, 
and, in broken English, the man spoke. 

“ Tank you, monsieur. I am vary glad of your 
good opinion. It is vorth much.” 

That was nothing. If the man possessed any 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


179 


powers at all he could read faces. Why, even he — ■ 
MacFarlane — had taught himself to do that when 
walking the hospitals. 

That is what he thought, and again the head 
nodded ; then the light eyes passed to his neigh- 
bour. They fixed him for a few moments, then 
Grandjean opened his mouth, and in a soft, light 
tenor voice, using the old-fashioned do re mi ) he 
sang two- bars of music. 

Crampton sprang to his feet. 

“Stop! it’s not written yet!” he cried, then he 
sat down suddenly, reddening, as he found himself 
stared at by every one in the room. 

Grandjean laughed, and his laughter turned the 
curious face into that of a mischievous child. 

“ Those bars were running in my head while I 
was dressing,” whispered Crampton. “I didn't even 
hum them, so no one could have heard. The man's 
most uncanny.” 

MacFarlane was staring at the platform. He 
was interested, but he wanted further proof. 

“ Dat vas vat you call play,” remarked Grand- 
jean. “ Now I vill do someting for you. 'Oo vill 
come up and be 'ypnotized? I vill not 'urt 'im. 
Madame vill tell you I do not 'urt. I vill not do 
vat some mens do — burn and 'it and tell you 
you suffer not. No ; dat is foolish. I vill not 
make dam fool of you neither by making you 
dance like silly bear. No ; I jes' send you sleep 
and you say fings you know not. Dat is all. 
'Oo vill come?” 

He looked round the room with a smile. 

Mrs. Stephens rose. 


180 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Billy,” she called to a tall man with grey hair, 
“ do go. I promise you he won’t hurt you. What 
he says is true.” 

“ Billy,” otherwise Colonel Sir Arthur Brindley, 
bowed. Then, looking rather uncomfortable, he 
marched to the platform and mounted it. 

“ Do you speak French, monsieur?” asked 
Grandjean. 

“ No. That is, I can ask my way in Paris, and 
can order my coffee at hotels, but I fear my French 
is rocky.” 

“ R-r-rocky ? ” questioned Grandjean. “I sup- 
pose dat is argot — er, vat you call slang. Veil, 
you speak not French, dat all right. Now you 
sit on dis chair, so. Do not fear ; I not ’urt 
you.” 

He bent and stared at his victim’s eyes, and in 
a surprisingly short time he stood upright again 
and quietly said : “’E sleep.” 

The Colonel lay back breathing quietly. 

Then Grandjean took from his pocket some 
papers. 

“ Vill some kind gentleman please take dese and 
give dem about in de room. Tank you. It is a 
little poem of our great de Musset. I do not fink 
dis gentleman is vat you might say a lover of poets, 
eh ? ” There was a murmer of laughter in the 
room. “ ’E also not speak French, eh? Veil, ve 
vill see vat ve can do. ’E speak dose verses. 
See ? ” 

The typewritten copies had found their way to 
different hands, and now the hypnotist bent again 
over the sleeper. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


181 


“ You say vat I fink, please,” he commanded 
quietly. “ Now ; begin.” 

He stared at Sir Arthur, who coughed, then, in 
fluent French, began to recite : 

<c Rappelle-toi, quand PAurore craintive 
Ouvre au soleil son palais enchante ; 
Rappelle-toi, lorsque la nuit pensive 
Passe en revant sous son voile argente ; 

A l’appel du plaisir lorsque ton sein palpite, 

Aux doux songes du soir lorsque Pombre t’invite, 
Ecoute au fond des bois 
Murmurer une voix — 

Rappelle-toi.” 

He went all through the three exquisite verses, 
giving them their full value. There were tears in 
many eyes as the soldier, with sad voice, spoke the 
last lines : 

“Tu ne me verras plus ; mais mon ame immortelle 
Reviendra pres de toi comme une soeur fidele, 
Ecoute, dans la nuit, 

Une voix qui gemit — 

Rappelle-toi.” 

Then the audience clapped, and clapped ; and 
the Colonel, wakened by a few swift passes of the 
delicate white hands, stared. 

“ What have I done ? ” he asked, as he stepped 
down from the platform. 

“ That /” said fat, emotional Lady Dorrington, 
handing him her copy of the verses. 

“ I don’t understand a word of it,” he announced 
as he glanced at the papef. 


182 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ We did — that is, some of us did.” She wiped 
away a tear, and murmured : 

“ coute, dans la nuit, 

Une voix qui g6m\t — 

Rappelle-toi.” 

There was a babel of offers of “ I,” “ I,” when 
Grandjean next asked for a subject. Not one 
minded being made to recite in a language he did 
not know. But that was not repeated 

All sorts of things happened — some grave, some 
gay. But Grandjean kept his word — no one was 
hurt, and no one was made to look foolish. The 
most he did was to make one man take off his 
coat, lay it on a table, and rub and rub with his 
handkerchief to get out an imaginary stain. 

Between two performances a small event took 
place that amused people immensely. 

Grandjean said he wanted a rest, and sat down 
on his chair. People began to discuss the wonders 
they had seen. Suddenly a young girl got up, 
made her way to the mantelpiece, took a rose out 
of a vase, and went across to Mrs. Stephens, who 
was talking in a group by the door. She placed 
it in her hostess’s dress, turning her head on one 
side to admire the effect. 

“ Is that the one you wanted ? ” she asked 
prettily. 

“ Wanted?” puzzled Mrs. Stephens. 

“ Yes, you said the big pink rose ; but there were 
two — I chose the prettier.” 

“ My dear, I ” then with one accord all the 

people round who had seen the incident turned 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


183 


and looked at the stage — Grandjean was smiling 
quietly, with his eyes fixed on the girl. 

“Thank you, dear. Yes, it was this one,” said 
Mrs. Stephens kindly ; and the giver of the rose 
smiled happily, and went back to her seat behind 
MacFarlane. 

In a few minutes he asked Crampton, who knew 
her, to introduce him, and he asked her when Mrs. 
Stephens had asked her for the rose. 

“What rose?” she asked, with wide-opened, 
surprised eyes. 

“ The rose you gave her.” 

“ I gave her no rose. Oh, that pink one she's 
wearing? It was not I — you are mistaken.” 

This interested MacFarlane more than anything 
that had gone before. He fell into deep thought, 
and hardly noticed the following events. He 
heard the clapping and laughter, and he clapped 
himself once or twice, but he could not have given 
a detailed description of any one performance. 

After it was all over, the people surged into the 
supper-room, and MacFarlane went with them. 
He was standing looking at a picture by Corot 
when he felt a touch on his arm, and looked down 
to meet the curious eyes of the entertainer. 

“ I can ’elp you,” said Grandjean, without any 
preliminary. 

“ Yes,” answered MacFarlane quietly. 

“ Vill you come to my ’ouse to-morrow at eleven ? 
'Ere is my card. I shall be very pleased to 'elp a 
fellow worker.” 

MacFarlane stared at the card and hesitated. 
His thoughts were answered uncannily. 


184 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ I vill be silent as the de — er. Parlez-vous 
frangais , monsieur ?” 

“ Mats oui ! ” 

“ Bien ) ga c'est plus facile 

They continued in French. 

“ I will keep your secret, monsieur. I know 
many secrets — some told to me, some not told. 
I have not read yours — I would not do so. I know 
only that you can do my work— oh, not all my 
work, that comes with practice, but some of it. 
I know you are in great sorrow and great difficulty, 
and I was told, somehow, that I could help you. 
If you will trust me I shall be very pleased to do 
my utmost.” 

MacFarlane looked steadily into the queer eyes. 
Then he held out his hand. 

“ Thank you, monsieur ; I will trust you.” 

The small white hand was swallowed up in his 
big brown one. 

“ At eleven o’clock then ? ” 

“ Yes, at eleven.” 

“ Au revoir , monsieur 

“ Au revoir , a demain .” 

He went home, and slept more soundly than he 
had done for a year. 


CHAPTER XVII 


S O it came about that Dr. James MacFarlane, 
most reticent of men, sat one morning in a 
lodging-house room, and told his deepest secret 
to Hippolyte Grandjean, public entertainer. Only 
a year before, he would have laughed at the idea. 
He would have scoffed in his mind at Hippolyte, 
would have thought him a charlatan, or at the best 
an amusing trickster, whose role in life was to 
entertain society butterflies. 

Now — what did he think? He wondered as he 
sat on a stiff arm-chair and stared at the ghastly 
room, furnished (if furniture it could be called) 
with a “ suite ” of cheap saddle-bag chairs and sofa, 
an imitation rosewood sideboard, a round table 
with a horrible chenille cover, antimacassars of 
the mock Japanese style, pictures in shrieking gilt 
frames consisting chiefly of Marcus Stone engrav- 
ings and enlargements of photographs of the 
landlady’s relations (“ All you have to do is to 
send us a photograph and five shillings, and we 
will return you the photograph, and a beautiful 
enlargement, eighteen inches by ten, done by our 
best artists by a secret process of our own ”), a 
painted drain-pipe containing a large bunch of 
185 


186 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


dried and dyed pampas-grass and Cape goose- 
berries, and two Birmingham-Japanese vases on the 
mantelpiece, flanking a clock of gilt figures in stiff 
attitudes embracing the dial. Oh, it was a very 
superior room as lodgings go ; the landlady might 
well put “ furnished in the most refined manner ” 
on her cards. 

His host sat opposite him in the twin chair to 
his own, his short legs dangling, and his little 
arms laid quietly each side of him. 

MacFarlane shuddered, and had thoughts of 
running away. Then he encountered the gaze 
of those curious, large, light eyes, and stared 
back at them. The eyes smiled, and Hippolyte 
spoke. 

"Oui, c’est dr ole > riest-ce pas ? Mais” He 
shrugged his shoulders, lifted his white hands 
from the plush saddle-bags, and spread them out 
in a gesture expressing many things. 

MacFarlane leant forward, and frowned slightly. 

“ I do not doubt you,” he said quietly, “ I doubt 
only that you will be able to credit what I am 
going to tell you.” 

Grandjean shook his head. 

“ I have lived too long to dare to doubt any- 
thing, monsieur. I beg you to leave nothing out ; 
tell me even the little things — the things you may 
think unimportant.” 

" Very well.” 

He began with Oxford, described the character 
of Brocklehurst and their friendship, and went on 
through the years, telling little incidents, as he 
had been instructed. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 187 

Hippolyte sat back in his chair, his body 
perfectly still, his eyes shut. 

When MacFarlane got to the time of his friend’s 
marriage his voice shook a little, and he stammered 
with embarrassment. But he knew he must tell 
all or nothing, and he went on. For the first 
time he told the story of his hopeless love — told it 
to a man whom he had met only the night before, a 
man of another blood to his own, another breeding, 
a little man who would have resembled a monkey 
if it had not been for those wonderful eyes, and 
the beautiful hands. He spoke French well, and 
was glad of it ; it is so much easier to talk of 
love in a Latin tongue. He told of the child’s 
death, of Gra’s goodness — somehow it seemed no 
sacrilege to talk of her to this queer little man. 

Then he spoke of Brocklehurst’s illness, of the 
consultation, and then of that extraordinary con- 
versation between himself and his friend when 
the specialists had gone. He gave the exact 
words Cuthbert had used— could he ever forget 
them ? 

Grandjean opened his eyes suddenly. He 
thought the man was going to speak, so stopped, 
but he only nodded and said : “ Go on.” 

Under the gaze of those wide-open, attentive 
eyes he continued. 

He ttold of his scepticism, then of the sudden 
illumination that had come to him ; of his decision 
to circumvent the plot if he could, ^and his journey 
to the Continent, and his study of the power of 
hypnotism ; of his return to Wane’s Ferry, and of 
his night watphes, and his struggles. 


188 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


He left out nothing. Right through the whole 
story he went, carefully, telling everything. He 
finished up with the history of the shock he had 
received three nights before, and of Brocklehurst’s 
resolution to break the promise he had given, 
and to “ work ” at night when he wished. 

“ He suspects that his wife has somehow loosened 
the influence,” he ended, his elbows on the chair 
arms, his head bowed in his hands, “ and he is 
determined to get it back. What am I to do ? If 
he goes on, my power is not strong enough to 
counterbalance his. And he will go on till she 
answers as he wishes. Mind, the man is nearly 
well now, I have no fear that he will get ill again 
in the ordinary course of things — but there are 
accidents. Suppose he were killed — one can’t 
guard against accidents. Then all my work would 
be in vain. 

Then Grandjean spoke for the first time. 

“ Why does he want to continue the thing 
now ? Originally it was because he thought he 
might die any day, and he used the threat as a 
sword to make you work — to make you save him. 
Now that the danger is passed, I fail to see what 
his object is.” 

MacFarlane shook his head. 

“ And I,” he said sorrowfully — “ I also thought 
all would be well now. I can only think that it 
is a species of obstinacy. I think he would have 
given it up soon, but the other night seemed to 
make him angry, He has always succeeded in 
what he has set his mind to, and he was furious 
that she did not answer as he wished. It appears 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


189 


to me as if he were doing it as a kind of ex- 
periment, to see if he has lost his influence. I 
am sure he does not suspect the truth, he has 
no idea that I have interfered with his designs, 
but he suspects that his will has weakened since 
the old days, and he wishes to regain it. I’m in 
a quandary — if I leave her alone he will impose 
his suggestion on her ; it is too much of a risk. 
Grandjean, do you think it is possible — all this ? 
Do you think that a suggestion as horrible as 
that can take hold of a mind and bear a fatal 
result ? ” 

Grandjean nodded gravely. 

“Yes, I fear it is possible. I know my uncle 
told me that he knew of a case where a man 
had willed his wife to die at a certain time. He 
was in love with another woman, and he wished 
to marry her. The wife died — the man had his 
way. My uncle could never prove it, of course, 
but he knew. He could see things, and he read 
the man’s thoughts.” 

“Yes, but that was at a certain time. I have 
often puzzled over this same thing. I know one 
can say to an hypnotic subject, ‘ At such and such 
an hour or day you are to do so-and-so/ and he 
does it ; but can one say, ‘ When you see Whats- 
his-name do so-and-so, you are to do so-and-so 
at the same moment.’ That is my doubt.” 

“ Ah — I see.” 

Grandjean shut his eyes again and thought 
deeply. Then he spoke quickly. 

“ Will you allow me to hypnotize you ? ” 

“ Certainly. Why ? ” 


190 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ I wish to try an experiment. Then will you 
come here again this afternoon ? I wish to 
think.” 

“ Very well. When do you wish to hypnotize 
me?” 

“Now. Just lie back quietly — so. Give up 
your will to me, otherwise it may be difficult.” 

He bent over his visitor and stared into his 
eyes. It was not the first time MacFarlane had 
been hypnotized ; often, in the old days, he 
had allowed himself to be a subject for Brockle- 
hurst’s experiments. Very soon he was sleeping 
profoundly. 

Grandjean pulled up the sleeper’s eyelids and 
looked at his eyes. He was satisfied. 

“ Do you hear me speak ? ” he asked in French. 

“ Yes.” 

“ I wish to tell you something. When you wake 
up, you will stay here a little while talking to me. 
I shall then offer you a drink. When I put the 
glasses on the table — you understand ? — when I 
put out the glasses you must scream. Something 
will hurt you. Do you hear ? ” 

“ I must scream ? ” repeated the sleeper. 

“Yes. Not too loudly, because you are a brave 
man ; but you will be hurt, and you must cry 
out.” 

He repeated his injunction several times, then 
he awakened his visitor. 

MacFarlane smiled. 

“ I wish I could send people off as quickly as 
that,” he said enviously. “ What did you ask 
me?” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


191 


“ Oh, I just wondered if your subconscious self 
could help in the difficulty. Often one gets an 
idea from a sleeping subject which one has not 
thought of. But you were just as puzzled as you 
are now.” 

They talked for some little time longer ; then 
MacFarlane stood up. 

“Well,” he said, “ I must go now. What time 
shall I come this afternoon ? ” 

“ About four — any time between four and 
seven ; I shall be here.” 

“ I am not going to attempt to thank you, Grand- 
jean. Your sympathy is beyond thanks.” 

Grandjean waved his hands. 

“It is my profession,” he said carelessly; “no 
thanks are needed. It interests me beyond all 
things. What you have told me to-day has made 
me think — and I want to think of a way out. It is 
for my own sake as well as yours ; I love problems. 
But wait ; before you go you must have one little 
drink with me.” He went to the sideboard, and 
returned with a decanter, which he put on the table, 
talking all the while. “ I drink whisky in England ; 
I never touch it in France, and wondered at your 
liking for it : I’ve come to the conclusion that it is 
this climate of yours.” He fetched glasses, and 
brought them towards the table. “ In France 
one does not need it, but here, mon Dieu ! one 
needs something” He placed the glasses on the 
table, and, as he did so, MacFarlane cried out, 
clapped his hands to his head, and sank into a 
chair. 

Grandjean bent over him. 


192 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ What is it ? ” 

‘ Lord, such a pain ! It’s gone now. I can’t 
think what it was.” 

Grandjean sank down in the chair opposite. 

“It was no pain.” 

“ Eh ? I can assure you ” 

“ It was no pain. Listen.” 

He told what he had done, and MacFarlane 
stared ; then, as he realized the reason for the 
experiment, he turned very white. 

“ Good God ! ” 

“Yes. It is quite true. Something must be 
done. I must think. I feel sure I shall be able 
to help you. I felt that last night when I first 
saw you.” 

“ I hope to Heaven you can.” 

MacFarlane felt shaky. All through the past 
year, though he had striven and fought as if he 
had no doubts, deep down in his heart was the 
unacknowledged hope that such things could not 
be. Now — well now that hope had gone. It was 
proved to him that it was possible to give suggestion 
of an action to be done, not only at a certain hour 
or day, but synchronizing with another action done 
by another person. 

He went away feeling dazed and wretched. He 
could think of no plan, and he had no hope that 
Grandjean would be of any use. 

When he returned at five o’clock, he was met 
by the Frenchman with an abrupt question : 

“You write, I believe ? ” 

“Yes. I used to write. I have no opportunity 
now.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


193 


“Your friend suggested that you should try 
and pick up your old practice when you left 
him ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“Well, could you not suggest to him that you 
will have great difficulty in doing so after having 
disappeared for so long.” 

“ Yes, he knows that. I have till the end of the 
year to do it in. He continues my salary till 
then. I leave him, as I told you, on the fifth of 
August.” 

Grandjean looked serious. He put up one small 
hand and used it as a b&ton, as if he were marking 
time, waving it up and down as he spoke. 

“ Could you not say to your friend that you 
have decided that it would be well to bring out a 
book in the autumn, so as to bring your name 
before the public again ? ” 

MacFarlane looked surprised. 

“ I could, of course, but I don’t see how I could 
get through it. You will understand that, as long 
as I am under his roof, and taking his money, I 
can’t very well disappear all day, and devote 
myself to my own work.” 

“ Exactly ! ” Grandjean looked triumphant. 
“ Now, could you not say to him that, with his per- 
mission, you had decided to employ a secretary ? 
that you had an immense number of notes which 
this secretary could sort and transcribe ? that 
you insisted on giving up, say, four pounds a 
week for this secretary’s board, if your friend did 
not object to his presence in the house? Could 
you not do this ? ” 

13 


194 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“Yes, of course I could,” said MacFarlane, 
looking puzzled ; “ but I don’t see what that has 
to do with the difficulty in hand. As a matter 
of fact it is a very good idea of yours, and if I 
weren’t so worried, I should do it. I have a lot 
of notes. I was just going to begin another book 
when I was called to give up everything to do 
with my profession. What are you thinking of, 
Grandjean ? ” 

“ Sit down,” said the little man ; they had 
been standing hitherto. “ Now,” he continued, as 
he leant forward in his chair, with an expression 
of delight on his face, “ you say there is no 
difficulty in all that. Very well, I ” — he placed 
his forefinger on his breast — “ I come as your 
secretary, I stay in the house, and I help you ! ” 

MacFarlane stared at him. 

“ But ” he began blankly. 

The little man laughed. 

“ Oh, I know I cannot write English well. But 
need he know that? You can tell him I can write 
better than I talk, or — better still — say you are 
going to write the book in French, and that I am 
there to help you. Say I am a scientist — after all, 
my profession is a science, though you English 
have not yet acknowledged it to any great 
extent.” 

“But, my dear chap, that’s all right, it pre- 
sents no difficulties ; Brocklehurst would not 
even inquire about it. But — but your work ? 
your ” 

“ Oh, my work ? I have to take a holiday 
sometimes. You would be keeping me. And, if 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


195 


you wish, you can pay me a salary ” — he chuckled 
— “ the salary of your secretary. I don’t want this, 
you understand. I am suggesting it only to please 
you. I am interested in the problem, and I wish 
to see if I cannot help. I think I can ; I have 
thought of a plan.” 

“ What?” 

MacFarlane bent forward, with sparkling eyes. 

“ Well ” — Grandjean got up and walked about 
with short, quick steps. “ Mind, I am not sure, 
but I think I am strong enough to force the lady 
to answer as her husband wishes. To answer 
only, you understand? Just to say the empty 
words, not to mean them, not to understand them, 
not to have the suggestion in her brain at all, but 
just to say like a parrot what he wishes. Then 
we will influence her in the day, as you have 
been doing all this time — influence her against 
her husband’s suggestion. So ! What do you 
think ? ” 

“ But you would have to watch night after night. 
You would be tired out.” 

Grandjean laughed merrily. 

“ Ah ! I am a night bird. I love going to 
bed late. And I am a very late person in the 
mornings. I do not rise till ten. Terrible for 
a secretary ! But you can keep that a secret, 
except from the servant who brings my coffee. 

I think it is a very, very good plan. What do 
you think ? ” 

“ But ” 

“ If you say ‘but’ any more I shall think you 
do not trust me,” said Hippolyte seriously. 


196 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


MacFarlane walked across the room and held 
out his hand silently; the little man took it. 

So without a word they sealed their compact 
— surely one of the most extraordinary compacts 
ever agreed on between men. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


“ J3 ROCK ” 

JD “Um?” 

“ I’ve been thinking, and I want to put the results 
of my thoughts before you.” 

“ Go ahead. You sound very solemn.” 

“ I am. Well, its like this. I shall have some 
difficulty, as you realize, in catching hold again, 
and I think I ought to begin to wake people up to 
the fact that James MacFarlane has not retired 
from work pour toujours . I have written one or 
two articles in the last year, but that’s all. When 
I came to you, I was just going to start a book. 
1 have piles of notes, and had written out the 
synopsis. Now, I thought that if I employed a 
secretary I could get through it all right without 
neglecting you.” 

“ Bosh ! I’m all right now. You can work all 
day long as far as I’m concerned. I want you 
in the house only in case of need, that’s all.” 

“ I dare say. But you see I have some con- 
science. I’m not going to take your money, and 
calmly work at my own affairs all day long, as 
you suggest. No, if I employ a secretary he can 
work alone to a great extent ; I should dictate to 
197 


198 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


him for an hour or two while you’re working, then 
the rest of the day he can transcribe from his 
shorthand notes and from the muddle of scraps 
I have. I can mark them after he’s sorted them, 
and give him what he’s to use for the day, and 
so on. I wanted to consult you about it.” 

“ Of course, Mac, you can do as you like. Get 
the Johnny, by all means ; I suppose he’ll come in 
early every day ? ” 

“ No ; that’s why I wanted to consult you. I 
think of taking a man who used to work for me 
sometimes, if he can come. He lives in the 
country, and I should have to have him here. 
I propose to give him the little room off mine if 
you’ve no objection. And, look here, Brock, I 
insist on paying for his keep.” 

“ Rot ! ” 

“ If you don’t consent I shall not have him, and 
my work must go hang. 1 mean this. I intend you 
to deduct four pounds a week from my salary.” 

“ Good heavens ! I don’t keep a boarding- 
house. Four pounds a week for a wretched 
secretary — I never heard such nonsense ! ” 

“ Then he can’t come.” 

“But, my dear chap, four pounds is simply 
ridiculous. One can go to an hotel for that.” 

“ Well, he’ll give trouble — he’ll have to have 
his meals in my room, and so on.” 

“ The servants are paid. No, Mac, I really can’t 
do it.” 

The men argued and wrangled for twenty 
minutes. MacFarlane was firm. He was deter- 
mined that he would not bring this man into the 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


199 


house to work against Brocklehurst, allowing the 
host to pay for his keep. The whole thing 
was hateful to him ; even though the end in sight 
was good, yet it seemed mean and underhand, 
and went against the grain most terribly. 

At last Cuthbert gave in and consented to take 
three pounds a week. He held out a long time 
for nothing, longer still for two pounds ; at 
last, cross and irritable, he accepted MacFarlane’s 
final suggestion. 

“ And who is my new boarder ? ” he asked 
sarcastically. 

Mac laughed. 

“ A queer little Frenchman. He’s a marvel at 
understanding my notes, and very quick at short- 
hand ” — he got scarlet at the lie, and walked to the 
window. “He’s about five foot nothing, and a most 
remarkable-looking person. But he’s honest ; you 
need not fear he’ll run off with the plate. He 
speaks bad English, but writes and reads it well, 
as so many do who have learnt from books. He’s 
quite clever.” 

“ Is he a gentleman ? Why can’t he meal with 
us?” 

“ No, he’s not what I suppose one would call a 
gentleman. Anyway, I know he’d be fearfully 
awkward if he had to eat down here.” 

He wished to keep Grandjean out of Brockle- 
hurst’s way — it would not do for him to see the 
little man often. Cuthbert was extraordinarily sharp 
at reading people, and he might one day realize 
that poor Hippolyte was not the rara avis of a 
secretary represented by his new employer. 


200 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


So the matter was arranged, and the following 
day Grandjean appeared, and was installed in a 
small bedroom leading off the same passage as 
the suite of three rooms occupied by MacFarlane. 
Everything was done to hoodwink any one who 
might be suspicious. MacFarlane bought a type- 
writer, and put the machine in a prominent place 
in his sitting-room. A pile of old books full of 
shorthand notes was placed beside it Drawers 
were emptied of their conglomeration of slips of 
paper sprawled over with writing in the doctors 
vile caligraphy. 

The night before, Gra had been subjected to the 
usual hypnotic treatment, MacFarlane keeping her 
silent — a silence that it was easy to see roused 
her husband to a pitch of impatient anger. But 
what could MacFarlane do ? He must wait for 
Grandjean’s help. 

The first night the little man could do nothing ; 
it was not necessary to watch, as MacFarlane knew 
Brocklehurst would not break his word. He had 
promised to go to bed and sleep at least every 
other night. 

So the two conspirators talked and made plans, 
and Grandjean told his employer how he had 
avoided his standing engagements by writing and 
saying that he was ill. He was interested heart 
and soul in the new work — it was easy to see that. 
His face glowed with excitement as he talked, and 
he could hardly keep his small hands still for a 
moment. 

The next morning Brocklehurst said at break- 
fast : 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


201 


“ I shall probably pay you a visit if you don't 
mind, Mac, before I start work — just to see your 
wonderful secretary." 

“ I don’t think you ought to do the stairs," said 
MacFarlane. 

“ Oh, nonsense, it won’t hurt me for once. I’ll 
come after breakfast." 

“ Very well, but take it slowly," said MacFarlane 
cheerfully, and flew upstairs when the meal was 
finished to warn Hippolyte. 

When Brocklehurst came in, the two were bend- 
ing over piles of notes in the most businesslike 
manner. Hippolyte had on a pair of smoked 
glasses — he was sensible enough to realize that 
his uncanny eyes might give him away. He got 
up and bowed. Brocklehurst nodded as Mac said : 

“ This is Mr. Brocklehurst, Hippolyte." 

Cuthbert sank into a chair and lit a cigarette. 

(t Go on, old chap," he said heartily, “ if you don’t 
mind me. You usen’t to. I’d like to hear you 
dictate, if monsieur does not mind ? " 

“ Not at all, monsieur," Grandjean answered. 
“ Are you ready, monsieur? We continue the 
notes from last night?" He spoke in French to 
MacFarlane. 

The latter was worried. He had not thought 
of this. Was his supposed secretary sharp enough 
to carry out this travesty of work ? 

Grandjean was quite sharp enough. He poised 
his pencil over his notebook, and looked through 
his glasses at his employer. 

MacFarlane, trembling with nervousness, began 
to dictate. It was quite a chance that his words 


202 SHADOW-SHAPES 

were sense. The little man’s pencil travelled 
quickly over the paper with queer dots and dashes 
that a stenographer would have shrieked over. 
He whisked back the sheets as they were covered, 
and once he looked up and said : 

“ Pardon, monsieur, how do you spell sphygmo- 
graph ? ” 

A touch that roused the doctor’s deep admiration. 

But he could not continue long. He got up and 
went to the table. 

“ After that I want this note inserted, ‘ Note F,’ 
do you understand ? Then you can type them, 
and I will see if it’s all right.” 

He turned to Cuthbert. 

“ I’m going down now,” he said. “ I think I shall 
go out for a little. Are you going to start work ? ” 

“Yes,” answered Brocklehurst, going to the door 
with the doctor. Outside he added : “ He’s jolly 
quick at it. I wish I could do shorthand.” 

It was as much as his companion could do to 
stifle his laughter ; he was strung up to a state 
of nervous excitement that made laughter almost 
a necessity. 

To his upright nature all this deceit was disgust- 
ing, horrible — yet it was necessary, that was the 
hateful thing about it ; he could do nothing else, 
it was his last chance. He must guard against 
accidents ; guard Gra’s dear life from this truly 
Machiavelian plot. It must be done — it must be 
done. 

And that night he regretted nothing. All his 
scruples were killed. 

He had had some trouble at the beginning to 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


208 


arrange his watchings. It was not so easy as at 
Wane’s Ferry. At Wane’s the dressing-room door 
need be opened only a little way for Gra’s bed to be 
in full view; here it had to be opened wider. Also, 
the beds had been arranged facing the door instead 
of sideways. This he had managed to get altered by 
saying that it was better for Brocklehurst to sleep 
back to the light, so he had had the beds placed to 
the left, on the window side of the room, but, as the 
dressing-room door opened to the right, it had to 
be pulled open half-way before he could see them. 
Then, the first day after their return, when going 
to bore his peephole, he had found that a board in 
the passage squeaked rather badly; and one night, 
when the Brocklehursts were at a reception, he 
had descended, feeling like a thief, and taken up 
the carpet and the board, and chiselled and planed 
at it before replacing it, wondering what he should 
say if a servant appeared. 

Luckily he was not interrupted, and the board 
was afterwards silent. But he never felt so com- 
fortable in watching — if comfort it could be called — 
as he did at Wane’s. 

This night was to be the first time that Hippolyte 
would watch, and MacFarlane’s heart beat un- 
comfortably fast. He gave him full instructions 
as to what he was to do if they were discovered. 
He himself would pretend to be asleep, Hippolyte 
was to put his finger to his lips, and tell Brockle- 
hurst that he had followed him downstairs. For 
this reason both men were in dressing-gowns, and 
a strange apparition the Frenchman looked with 
his thin bare legs appearing beneath a Jaeger 


204 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


wrap — he wore a night-shirt, not pyjamas. His 
little feet were thrust into gaudy wool-work slippers, 
and MacFarlane nearly laughed when he first saw 
him. 

The two waited silently in their sitting-room 
with the door open — waited to hear the master of 
the house come upstairs. He was writing in the 
library, as MacFarlane had got him to promise, 
in a vain endeavour to put a stop to the other 
business. He knew from two nights’ experience 
that he would come up to the dressing-room, then 
go into the bathroom opening off it, and return 
to the bedroom. That was the time to descend. 
He knew that they must be very, very cautious, as 
Brocklehurst did not go to bed, but waited for 
only a few minutes before going to Gra’s side. 
His ears were not dulled with sleep as they had 
been at Wane’s, he was wide awake and alert, and 
the slightest sound would make him turn. The 
door hinges and handles were well oiled, there was 
no creaking board now ; but in the dark any 
accident might happen, and Grandjean was not 
as accustomed as he was to moving silently. 

Something of his nervousness he put into words 
as they waited ; but the little man smiled. 

“ I can see in the dark, like a cat,” he said. 
“ Now wait and listen. See, I turn out the light ” — 
he suited the action to the word ; “ now I will 
go into the next room and fetch you your watch. 
Where have you put it ? ” 

“ On my dressing-table ; but you hardly know 
my room.” 

“ As well as I know that room downstairs ; I 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


205 


have only seen that once, remember. Now listen 
hard, and tell me if I make any noise.” 

He moved away. There was not the faintest 
sound of his steps, and he touched nothing in the 
room. MacFarlane heard the door creak ; but 
that was nothing — this door was not oiled. Not 
one other minutest noise did he hear till a voice 
said close to his ear : 

“ Don’t be startled, I am here. Here is your 
watch ” — and it was put into his hand. 

“Did you hear anything?” asked Grandjean 
proudly, as he turned up the light. 

“ No. Wonderful ! That has eased my mind a 
lot. Now we had better turn out the light. It 
is half-past one, and he may be coming up 
any moment, and he’d see the light if he looked 
up.” 

They sat in the dark, talking in low voices, till 
they heard a door open and close far below in 
the silent house. 

The dressing-room door on to the upper hall 
made no noise, of course, but, by leaning over 
the landing-rail, they heard the bathroom door 
click, then the faint sound of running water. Some 
minutes after the door clicked again, then silence. 

“Come on,” whispered Mac, and, silently, stealthily, 
the two men crept down the stairs. 

MacFarlane bent his eye to the keyhole — the 
light was out. Softly, softly he opened the door, 
and they went in. 

The doctor crossed to the communicating door, 
measured, and picked out his little wedge of wood, 
and a tiny hole of light appeared. He looked 


206 SHADOW-SHAPES 

through, and pulled Hippolyte towards him to look 
for himself. 

Brocklehurst was standing exactly opposite, by 
the mantelpiece ; he was easily visible by the light 
of the shaded night-lamp that stood on the corner 
of the shelf. His head was turned towards the 
beds, and he was listening. The hole was bored 
close to the hinge of the door, so the watcher could 
see when Cuthbert moved to Gra’s bed, as he did 
in a few moments. He stood with his back to 
them, and Gra’s head was only just visible on 
his left. He began the rhythmic movements 
of his hands, and MacFarlane turned the handle 
gently, and set the door half open. 

Grandjean stood back in the shadow, and Mac- 
Farlane watched him. He could see his face very 
dimly, but his eyes were used to darkness, and he 
saw well enough to notice the curious change in 
the man’s expression. 

At Mrs. Stephens’s house he had done wonderful 
things, but it was to interest and amuse a crowd of 
society people ; here it was a question of, maybe, 
life or death, and his mouth was set, his queer 
light eyes seemed to go back and back into his 
head, as if he were living in the past. His hands — 
those beautifully formed hands — darted out, the 
fingers grasping and collecting some invisible 
thing. 

Then — as Brocklehurst ceased his movements, 
bent lower, and spoke — Hippolyte’s head was 
thrust forward, his nostrils quivered, and his lips 
moved silently. 

“Tell me, Gra, what you are to do — will you 


SHADOW-SHAPES 207 

answer me ? Say what commands you have been 
given.” 

The beautiful head rocked on the pillow ; Gra 
frowned, but she did not answer. 

Beads of sweat came out on the Frenchman’s 
face, his eyes seemed to glow like a cat’s in the 
gloom ; again he moved his lips. 

Brocklehurst repeated his question with a distinct 
note of impatience in his voice. 

The head on the pillow moved again, then, 
in the silence of the room, a sweet low voice 
spoke : 

“ When Cuthbert dies, my heart is to cease beat- 
ing. I die too.” 

Brocklehurst gave an exclamation of joy and 
triumph which drowned the sound of the quick 
breath MacFarlane drew in. 

“That is right. Don’t forget,” said the man 
in the bedroom. Then he lifted his arms again. 

Grandjean shut the door. 

When they returned to the room upstairs Mac- 
Farlane flung himself into a chair, and gave vent to 
a sound like a deep sob. 

“ Thank God ! Oh ! thank God ! ” 

“ Please may I have some whisky ? ” asked 
Grandjean. 

MacFarlane laughed. If he had not laughed he 
would have cried. His nerves were racked to the 
point of hysteria. 

“ Take any damned thing you want,” he exclaimed 
in English. 

Then he hit Hippolyte’s shoulder such a bang as 
nearly sent the poor little man to the ground. 


208 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ By Heaven ! you’re a brick, Hippolyte ! you’re 
a marvel ! I feel I could kiss Mrs. Stephens, 
cosmetics and all, for having introduced me to 
you.” 

He still spoke in English, and Grandjean 
shrugged his shoulders as he poured out the 
whisky. 

“ I don’t know what you are saying — you say 
something about kissing Mrs. Stephens, eh ? 
What for ? ” 

The rapid French calmed MacFarlane, and he 
laughed again. He held out his hand and took 
the Frenchman’s little white one and wrung it. 

“ I can never express my gratitude, Grandjean.” 

Hippolyte shrugged again. 

“ Pah ! ” he said, and drank deeply. “ Gratitude. 
Why ? I am employed by you to save that beau- 
tiful lady — I try to do it. That is all. Now come 
to bed.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


B UT Grand jean was uneasy. 

He had never before in his life tried any- 
thing of this kind. To make a person — a person 
not under his own hypnotic power — say empty 
words to satisfy another ! It had not been easy, 
and he had succeeded ; but it was a risk. He could 
not tell whether the mere fact of saying the words 
would not have revived the old influence in Gra’s 
mind. MacFarlane had no doubts, he knew that ; 
but for himself he was not comfortable. 

As well as he could, without alarming the doctor 
unnecessarily, he tried to make him see that they 
must go carefully. After breakfast the next morn- 
ing, when the two were closeted together, he spoke 
about the matter quietly and gravely. 

“ What do you mean ? ” asked MacFarlane 
anxiously. “You surely don't think he has got 
back his old influence? You heard how she re- 
fused to answer, when I was watching, the first 
time he asked the question the other day. That 
looks as if my influence were greater — doesn’t it ? ” 
“Yes, yes — oh yes; but I think you must be 
careful to keep up your influence. You must not 
let her backslide.” 

14 


209 


210 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ No. I intend to hypnotize her every day. I 
told you what she thinks my reason is for doing 
this, didn’t I ? We both suspected Brocklehurst 
of hypnotizing her when asleep, and so I told 
her it was bad for him. I said I was giving her 
the suggestion hypnotically to wake up when he 
began. She firmly believes that — especially as 
she did wake once when he was just starting. 
By the way, I must go off to her now — her husband 
is deep in his work, and she will be waiting for 
me in her room.” 

“ I should ask her, if I were you, what your 
commands are. Ask her just as her husband did.” 

Grandjean spoke carelessly, turning over some 
pamphlets as he did so. 

“ All right. Yes, it’s just as well.” 

MacFarlane went along the landing to Gra’s 
sitting-room. They were practically free from all 
Brocklehurst’s interruption here, as he was, by the 
doctor’s advice, still careful about stairs, and rarely 
went up any when it was not absolutely necessary. 
The day before, when he had gone to Mac’s room, 
was the first time, he had been up to this landing 
for months. 

Gra was sitting in the chair she was accustomed 
to choose for the stances, as she laughingly called 
them. As Mac entered the room she looked up 
from a book. 

“You must hurry up to-day, Mac; I have to 
go out.” 

“ Very well. Isn’t it a gorgeous day? Rather 
different from the terrible weather that greeted 
us on our arrival ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


m 


“Yes. I’m longing to be at Wane’s. I wish 
we were there in this weather. Horrid ; we have 
to wait for a fortnight yet?” 

“ I think you could easily persuade Brock to 
go sooner if you really wished to— he’s dying to 
get down to his coins.” 

“Yes, but I can’t go; unfortunately, I've got 
engagements booked up to the nineteenth, and 
it’s so rude to back out without any real excuse. 
Now come on, get to work, Mac.” 

Soon she was lying back with her eyes closed, 
breathing quietly and regularly. 

When he was quite sure that she was uncon- 
scious, he asked the question. 

“ Tell me, Gra, what are your orders ? ” 

Gra puckered her brow. 

“Your orders, dear? What have I told you 
to do ? ” 

“I — I think— I fancy I — oh something to do 
with Cuth. I must ” 

She stammered and hesitated painfully. Mac- 
Farlane frowned. 

He repeated his question. 

“ When you die, I ” began Gra. Then she 

stopped, and began again : “ When Cuth dies, 

I When Cuthbert dies, my heart ” 

“No, no l” cried Mac in an agony. “That is 
not what you have been told to do. Think again. 
What have I commanded you to do?” 

“To live out ,the span of my natural life,” said 
Gra distinctly, and MacFarlane’s face broke into 
smiles, which quickly left it as she continued, after 
a slight pause : “ . . . cease beating. I die too.” 


212 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Again and again he tried, to receive only silence 
as a response, or a few incoherent words. Then he 
sat down to think, leaving her lying back in her 
chair, sleeping soundly. 

His influence was gone ! He pushed his fingers 
through his hair till it all stood up in an untidy 
heap. His influence was gone — or so confused 
with that other influence that it was not to be 
depended on. What was he to do? He must 
consult Hippolyte. In the meanwhile he must 
prepare Gra for something else to happen — 
probably Grandjean would have to see what he 
could do. Oh, lies again — how he hated it! But 
how could he tell her the truth ? How could he 
see the shuddering horror creep into that dear 
face as he told her that her husband, out of 
jealousy, was trying to end her life with his ? No, 
that was impossible. He must go on lying, lying, 
lying. Was there any one, however virtuous, who 
would be merciless enough to tell the truth in 
his place ? He thought not. 

He wakened her, and she looked at him and 
laughed. 

“ What have you been doing to your hair, Mac ? 
You look like shockheaded Peter.” Then her 
face became graver as she continued : “ But you 
look serious, dear — what is it ? ” 

“ I am serious. I have failed, and I am worried.” 

“ How failed ? Tell me, Mac.” 

“ It struck me to-day that it would be as well to 
ask you what I had commanded you to do. You 
calmly answered that you were to sleep soundly 
every night, and not wake if Brock hypnotized you.” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


213 


“ Mac ! ” 

“ It’s true. He has evidently been hypnotizing 
you, and, since that time when you waked up, he 
has taken precautions that you should not do it 
again by suggesting to you that nothing should 
wake you. Fm no good, evidently. I have failed.” 

“ Oh, Mac, what a bother ! All your trouble for 
nothing. I am so sorry. But it doesn’t seem to 
have done him any harm, does it ? And it certainly 
doesn’t hurt me — I’m always well. I don’t suppose 
he does it often, so why bother ? I can’t see what 
the fascination is for him, but he always was 
frightfully keen on it, and I suppose he wants to 
keep in his hand — or brain, I ought to say.” It 
was apparent that she was not worried over the 
revelation. 

How was he to rouse her to the gravity of the 
situation ? He began to speak seriously. 

“ Listen, Gra. If this hadn’t happened I would 
not have spoken. I don’t want to worry you, 
but now I must tell you. Brock is working at 
this numismatic work far harder than he ought. 
That in itself will do him no harm, but combined 
with intense brain-force used in another direction 
it will do him harm. It takes it out of one to an 
extent you can never realize. Even I am some- 
times quite exhausted. I have never been able 
to understand why Brock’s heart in the mornings 
sometimes has been rocky ; there was nothing to 
account for it as far as I could see. I had trusted 
to you waking if he tried any hypnotic tricks. 
Now I recognize the fact that this mysterious 
condition was the result of his exertions in the 


214 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


night. Mind, no great harm has been done yet, but 
it might do harm if continued Also it saps his 
strength without his knowing, and, if there were 
any accident, such as one cannot guard against, 
we might find that he was not strong enough to 
bear up against it.” 

“ But,” said Gra, looking very puzzled, “ you and 
Sir Ellis both say that the lesions are practically 
healed.” 

“ So they are. But look here, Gra, if you have 
a cut on your finger, and you have kept it plastered 
up, then you take off the plaster and use your 
finger for some great wrench, that cut, though 
you may hardly be able to see it, will open again 
and bleed; see? Now look at this” — he seized 
a sheet of paper and a pencil from the writing- 
table, and began drawing a rough diagram. Gra 
bent over him, watching carefully. 

“ Now you see, this is the heart, these are the 
valves. Now here were the lesions.” 

He proceeded to give a lecture in simple lan- 
guage, leaving out all technical words. Other heart 
specialists would have opened their eyes in 
astonishment and amusement at some of his 
statements, but he went on quietly till he had 
drummed into her brain a quantity of absurd 
ideas about the functions of the valves of the 
heart. He only hoped that she would not some 
day startle a doctor with the lecture, delivered 
second-hand. 

Gra nodded and nodded, and said “ I see ” now 
and again, and finally, when he had done, sat 
down and frowned. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


215 


“ What are we to do, Mac ? I quite see that 
one must do something. Cuth’s will is so fear- 
fully strong that he circumvents even yours, and 
I always thought you were stronger than any man 
I know.” 

“ It’s a question of knack, I suppose,” sighed 
MacFarlane miserably. “ He has done this all his 
life, and Ive been at it for only a year. We must 
get some one else into it, that's all. I must think. 
You go out now, Gra ; and don’t worry. I will 
think of something, never fear.” 

“Yes, I’m sure you will think of a way out, 
Mac. I’m fearfully sorry about it all. I can’t 
help feeling guilty somehow. What a silly thing 
the brain is, when all’s said and done ! I want 
to obey you, and yet, because Cuth says I’m to 
do this and that, my stupid brain obeys him.” 

“ Goose ! Well, go out, and don’t worry.” 

He went back to his room, and the moment 
Hippolyte saw him he got up hastily and said : 
“ Oh, Id Id ! ” 

MacFarlane sat down, put his arms on the table, 
and leant his head on his hands. Presently he 
lifted his face, and it was haggard. 

“ Tell me,” said Grandjean, sitting down near 
him — “ I can see part of it, but tell me the whole. 
Leave nothing out.” 

Slowly MacFarlane told him, stopping now and 
then to get some detail absolutely correct, making 
no comments, asking no advice, merely giving him 
the history of the last half-hour down to the 
smallest particular. 

When he had done, the Frenchman was silent, 


216 SHADOW-SHAPES 

his remarkable eyes watching a sunbeam dancing 
on the wall. 

“ Something must be done,” ended Mac. “ Now, 
if anything happened, it is a toss up which would 
win— my will or Brocklehurst’s. I shan’t be easy 
for one moment. His heart is all right, that won’t 
kill him in the ordinary course of things, but if 
there is any accident — even if the accident did not 
kill him outright — the heart would probably go 
back to its old state, and that would kill him. 
What I mean is, that, supposing he were flung from 
his horse (he’s allowed to ride now), or the motor 
had a smash up, or any one of the thousand things 
that happen in London every day, he might be 
killed. Even if he were not killed on the spot, the 
shock would be so great that I would not give 
that” — he clicked his fingers — “for his life if he were 
badly hurt. To all intents and purposes he’s a 
well man, but, when it comes to having to bear an 
operation or a long illness, the strain would be too 
great.” 

Hippolyte nodded gravely. 

There was silence for some time, then the little 
man began to speak. 

“There are two things I can do. If one does 
not succeed, we must try the other. I can try to 
influence Mr. Brocklehurst to give up hypnotizing 
madame. Of course I cannot do it with his will — 
if I could, it would be easy; I should have to do it 
when he is asleep, and, to speak quite plainly, I do 
not think I can do it — he is too strong. When I 
throw my will down a room at an entertainment, 
and make some one obey me unconsciously, it is 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


217 


always some one whom I know I can influence — 
like that young girl that night at Mrs. Stephens's 
house ; that was easy. Now, I could not have 
influenced you, for instance, though I could read 
your thoughts. Thoughts are another thing — they 
are pictures painted on the face ; one has only to 
look and one can see. Now I fear that, though I 
shall be able to hypnotize Mr. Brocklehurst when 
he sleeps (if he does not wake — there is always that 
danger), I may not be able to make him obey me — 
he is too strong. If I hypnotized him with his 
knowledge it would be quite different ; then he 
would fall asleep with the idea already in his brain 
that I was going to suggest something — you under- 
stand ? ” 

MacFarlane nodded hopelessly. 

“ No ; I fear I may fail," Hippolyte went on — “ I 
greatly fear it ; but it is always worth trying — one 
sometimes has success when one least expects it. 
Well, if that fails, it leaves the other plan. You 
must persuade madame to let me use her. The 
first time I should give the suggestion that she 
should wake when her husband began the passes — 
that would satisfy her ; she would then be willing, 
nay, anxious, to go on. After that I would throw 
all my power into carrying on what you have 
already begun. I don’t for one moment wish to 
belittle your power — you have done wonders, con- 
sidering what you had to fight against. But I can 
say without conceit that I am exceptionally suit- 
able for this work. Mr. Brocklehurst is exceptional 
too; he has made a study of hypnotic suggestion as 
well as possessing the natural gift. It will need all 


818 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


I can give to counterbalance his will. Strong as 
you are, you can do nothing now. Unless last 
year you had persuaded him to give it up to a great 
extent, while you were able to continue working 
with madame every day, you would not have 
succeeded at all. I reckon that it would require 
about four of your suggestions to his one to make 
the matter even — that at least; probably five or 
six to one. Even I may not know his full power, 
though I hope I may succeed in what I intend to 
try.” 

“ Then first you will see what you can do with 
him ? ” asked Mac. 

“Yes, I shall try to-night. To-morrow night 
we shall have to be down there to make her 
speak. He must never suspect, if we can help it, 
that any one is working against him. Then the 
night after I shall try with him again. If, after 
that, we find that he still persists in continuing 
to hypnotize madame, I shall know that I have 
failed.” 

“ It will be a risk, as you say. Suppose he 
wakes ? ” 

Hippolyte shrugged his shoulders and threw out 
his hands with his favourite gesture. 

“ Then I must try your plan, and pretend I am 
walking in my sleep. It would be a disaster, as he 
would be sure to lock his door afterwards. But I 
think I had better try that plan first. If it did 
succeed, it would simplify matters greatly — in fact, 
all would then be well.” 

“ Oh yes. Then we need fear nothing. If he 
gave it up, all we should have to do would be to 


SHADOW-SHAPES 219 

hypnotize her once or twice, and get his suggestion 
well out of her memory/’ 

“Exactly. That is why I want to try. It is 
always worth trying a thing that would be a bless- 
ing if it succeeded.” 

“ Yes, certainly. And even if it does not succeed 
I think that your power is stronger than his, and 
you will be able to hypnotize her every day to 
his every two days.” 

Hippolyte looked grave. 

“ Yes, but, monsieur, you forget one thing. We 
shall never know for certain.” 

MacFarlane looked up quickly. 

“ Not know ? How do you mean ? ” 

Grandjean walked to the window and looked out. 
He did not speak for a few moments, then he 
turned round, and spoke so low that MacFarlane 
could hardly hear. 

“You forget that she must be made to answer him. 
How can I ever be sure that the answer is mere 
empty words ? When I get her under my influence 
to answer me> she will say what I have suggested 
— that, of course. But how are we ever to know for 
certain that the words she says to him are not the 
expression of what is in her mind ? ” 

“ Good God ! ” MacFarlane walked up and 
down the room with quick uneven steps. Then 
he broke out impatiently : “ Why need she answer 
him ? Let her remain silent.” 

“And what would be the result? You don’t 
think, monsieur — you don’t think. Can’t you see 
that if he thought he had lost his influence he 
would subject her to his will every night, whereas, 


220 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


if he gets an answer each time, he will probably 
discontinue the influence to a great extent? I 
hope we may succeed so well that he will go 
back to the old arrangement, and hypnotize her 
only once a week, if that. Can’t you see ? ” 

MacFarlane groaned. 

“ Yes, I see. The whole thing is horrible. How 
can I remain in this uncertainty always — always ? 
How about when I have to leave ? I have only 
seven weeks more with them. I can make no 
excuse for staying on longer. Oh ! I think I shall 
go mad.” 

“ No, you won’t. You’re not a man to give up. 
I had to warn you of this ; you would have realized 
it for yourself some time. I hope and trust that 
we may so succeed that he will give up the whole 
thing. Once he thinks that she is entirely under 
his control, he will give it up if he is a sane man — 
which I really begin to doubt.” 

“ Oh, he’s sane enough. He’s only mad on this 
one notion. You forget, Grandjean, that the idea 

of — of ” He broke off, painfully embarrassed, 

and Grandjean laid his hand on his shoulder and 
pressed it. 

“ I know — I know. Don’t distress yourself. 
Well, you rely on me. I swear to do all in my 
power ; and my power is considerable.” 

“Yes. Oh yes, I rely on you. You are my 
only hope. Fool that I was to think that I could 
manage this alone.” 

“Not at all. You have done a great deal, as 
I told you. It showed that your influence was 
strong when she refused to answer him. Now 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


221 


go out for your ride. I shall want your help, 
remember, and you, as a doctor, don’t need to 
be told that you must keep your body well if your 
brain is to be of any use.” 

MacFarlane turned and went to his bedroom 
with dragging steps. 


CHAPTER XX 


P OOR Hippolyte did not succeed in his project. 

He tried his utmost, needless to say, and, 
the second night, had some hope that he had 
succeeded, as Brocklehurst repeated, on being 
questioned, that which Grandjean had commanded 
him to do — to give up hypnotizing his wife. The 
Frenchman had run great risk of being discovered ; 
he had had to make a few passes over Gra as 
well, in case she waked ; the first night — the night 
after the conversation between MacFarlane and 
Grandjean — Cuthbert had partly waked as the 
latter had entered his bedroom. Grandjean had 
promptly sunk to the ground by the side of 
a table, and remained crouching there, hardly 
breathing, till he saw that deep sleep had come 
again. 

But it was all useless. True, Brocklehurst seemed 
to hesitate, as though he were thinking of some- 
thing, on the fourth night, just as he bent over his 
wife’s bed, and before he began the passes. But 
the hesitation was only momentary, and it might 
have been accidental. 

The only thing to do, therefore, was to convince 
Gra that the curious little French secretary, whom 
222 


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228 


she had seen but once, was a very strong hypnotist, 
and to get her consent to submit herself to his will, 
instead of MacFarlane’s. 

She opened her eyes in astonishment when she 
was told. 

“ But, Mac,” she cried, “ how extraordinary ! 
Here are w$, all mad on the subject, and then 
your secretary turns out to be so too. Are you 
sure? ” 

“ My dear girl, it’s not exactly chance,” said 
MacFarlane, and he smiled bitterly to think that 
for once he could speak the truth. “ I have 
always known that he was a hypnotist : I met 
him first at a performance he was giving, and 
he helped me with a difficult problem that was 
worrying me at the time. We became chummy 
in a sense, and I took him into my employ, 
finding he was very clever, and could help 
me. He has given up professional hypnotism 
since I knew him. He is the most wonderful 
man at it I have ever seen — far stronger than 
I am. It is in his blood ; he’s had relations 
who have had the gift, natural, not cultivated, 
and he’s done it all his life. I was thinking of 
him the other day when I found I had failed 
with you, and I told him all about it, and con- 
sulted him. He’s quite sure that he can succeed, 
and it would be a grand thing if we could 
stop Brock fatiguing himself like this — I feel 
convinced he’s doing it often. Now if Hippo- 
lyte can make you wake, you can catch Brock 
at it.” 

So the little “secretary” hypnotized Gra, and, 


224 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


for that first day, willed her to wake when Brock 
came into the bedroom that night. 

When she was wakened from the hypnotic 
sleep, MacFarlane explained what had been 
done. 

“ When you wake, as you will do as Brock 
enters the room, you must not let him see that 
you are awake — do you understand ? Then, when 
he comes over, and begins the passes, you can 
speak to him.” 

“Yes, if he does begin,” mused Gra ; “but I 
really can’t think that he does it as often as you 
think, Mac. It would be really stupid of him 
when you’ve told him it does him harm.” 

“ Well, I may be wrong — we’ll see. Anyway, it’s 
worth trying.” 

The next morning at breakfast MacFarlane 
noticed that husband and wife were stiffly polite 
to each other, and he wondered what had taken 
place. He could not know till he was told, as 
he had not watched the night before, trusting 
entirely to Gra waking and putting a stop to 
any “ tricks ” — as he savagely called Brocklehurst’s 
mania. 

He went up to his room after breakfast, and five 
minutes after there was a faint knock at the door. 
He opened it, and Gra stood on the threshold, 
flushed, and with bright eyes. 

“ May I come in ? ” 

He held the door wider. 

“Yes, come in. Tell us what happened. It’s 
easy to see something happened.” 

“ I should think it did ! ” ejaculated Gra, sinking 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


225 


into a chair. Then she looked at Hippolyte, who 
was sitting at the table covered with papers, 
and back to MacFarlane, and wrinkled her fore- 
head. 

“Yes, go on. Hippolyte knows all; we need 
keep nothing back from him. Talk in French ; he 
understands it better.” 

“ Last night,” began Gra, speaking rather low, 
and glancing at the door nervously, “ I waked 
when Cuth came back from the bathroom. I was 
first going to yawn, or do something silly, when 
I remembered what you’d said, and I lay quiet. 
I opened my under-eye (I was lying on my side) 
a tiny chink, just enough to see if he moved. He 
was standing by his bed, at the foot. He was 
watching me — I could not see that, but I felt it 
— so I breathed quietly and evenly. In a few 
minutes he came over, leant over me, and listened, 
then he lifted his hands and began the passes. 
Of course, I had never seen this, as he always 
used to hypnotize me by staring — you know — 
but you’d told me the passes were necessary when 
the subject was sleeping, so I understood. I 
didn’t want to startle him by suddenly sitting 
up, so I quietly said : ‘ Cuth, how dare you try 
and hypnotize me when I am asleep?’ You 
should have seen his face ! It was exactly like 
a naughty boy’s when caught stealing apples in 
an orchard. He dropped his hands, and just 
stared, with his mouth open. I then sat up, and 
I was very severe. I said all sorts of things about 
his promises not to do that sort of thing, and how 
wicked it was of him to endanger his health when 
15 


226 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


you had taken such a lot of trouble to make him 
well, and so on. Oh, I was horribly grown-up. 
He sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his 
chin, and looked everywhere but at me ; and 
then he began to make excuses. He said all 
sorts of silly things — that he had wanted to see 
if he could do it still ; that he was quite well 
now, and that it would not hurt him ; and he 
got quite incoherent about it. I said straight 
out : ‘ Cuth, is this the first time you’ve done it 
since we came home ? ’ and he got scarlet, and 
wriggled — positively wriggled, Mac, like a naughty 
child. I said he need not answer, as I could see 
that he had done it often. Then I read him a long 
lecture about his heart. I did not let him suspect 
that you knew about these nightly seances, Mac ; 
I thought it best to keep that dark. I said that 
Sir Ellis had explained the functions of the heart 
to me, and had said that great mental exertion 
was bad for him. He scoffed at that, and said it 
was no exertion, that he’d done hypnotism for 
over twenty years, and it was no more effort than 
reading. I said : ‘ Then why did Mac forbid it ? ’ 
and he said — I’m sorry, Mac — he said you were a 
cranky fool, and that you had the usual ignorant 
idea about hypnotism, that it was something 
extraordinary, that you had no glimmering of 
what it really was — I nearly laughed — and all 
doctors were the same, they got some idea into 
their heads and were as obstinate as mules. Then 
I said I objected to being hypnotized in my sleep, 
that I thought it unfair, and I tried to get him to 
promise never to do it again ; but he got angry, 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


227 


angrier than he has ever been with me, and point- 
blank refused. I argued and argued, and I fear we 
both became very acrimonious. I said I intended 
to sleep in another room. And, Mac, I’ve given 
instructions to the servants to prepare the blue 
room for me, and I’m going there.” 

She ended triumphantly, and the two men looked 
at each other with sudden smiles of delight. They 
had neither of them thought of this termination to 
the affair. 

Gra saw their pleasure, and laughed. 

“ He’s quite well enough to be left now at night,” 
she said, “ and I am not going to lie there like a 
dummy for him to experiment on.” 

“ What did he say ? ” exclaimed Mac. 

“ He was furious, of course — absolutely furious. 
He accused me of wanting to leave him alone, 
and asked what he should do if he were ill. I 
turned on him, and said that if he thought that 
there was any fear of his being ill it made what 
he had done only the more wicked. His excuse 
for doing it had been that he was perfectly well. 
I quoted his own speech at him. Then he sulked. 
He went to bed and pretended to sleep, but he 
did not really sleep till about four — nor did I, 
and I’m dead tired. However, I’ve stopped it, 
thank goodness, and now there’s no risk. I 
shall lock my door. It’s really too bad of him, 
and it’s only owing to you, Mac, that we ever 
discovered it. How thankful I am that we did ; 
if he’d gone on for long he might have been ill 
again.” 

Gra was entirely pleased with herself and the 


228 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


way she had managed the business. The two men 
praised her, and she beamed upon them. 

“ I am intensely grateful to you, monsieur,” she 
said to Grandjean ; “you made me wake last night, 
and it’s all owing to you. What can I do to show 
my gratitude ? ” 

MacFarlane had noticed that the little man was 
looking worried, and had wondered why. Now 
his face lit up as he bowed to Gra. He spread out 
his hands in a gesture of deprecation of her words 
of praise. 

“ I did nothing, madame — nothing. You are a 
wonderful subject, that is all. If you are really 
so kind as to wish to do something for me, I have 
one great desire.” 

MacFarlane looked surprised. What could the 
queer little man be going to ask ? He felt uncom- 
fortable. Was his helper going to fall from the 
pedestal on which he had placed him ? 

Gra nodded brightly. 

“ Yes ? ” she asked. 

“You are such a good subject, madame” — 
Hippolyte spoke dreamily — “that, if you really 
are generous, you will allow me to hypnotize you 
now and then ; it would be such a great pleasure 
to me.” 

Then, as Gra consented immediately, MacFarlane 
heaved a sigh of relief. How could he have 
doubted Grandjean even for an instant? Here 
was he, like a fool, thinking only of his joy that 
Gra would be saved from that horrible influence, 
and quite forgetting that she must be subjected 
to several contrary suggestions to her husband’s, 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


229 


otherwise they could not be sure of her safety. 
And he, Hippolyte, had realized this, and acted 
quickly. Ah ! he was a wonder. He threw a 
quick look of understanding at the Frenchman, 
who was bowing his thanks to Gra for her con- 
sent. 

When Gra had left them, they talked long and 
excitedly about the events of the last twelve 
hours. They had success beyond their greatest 
hopes. 

Then MacFarlane became gloomy. 

“ I wonder what he’ll do now,” he said, absent- 
mindedly turning over some papers. “ He’s not a 
man to give up his object.” 

“ I don’t see what he can do. She will be 
in her own room behind a locked door, and 
she won’t consent to be hypnotized when she is 
awake.” 

“ No. But — well, I don’t know, but I’ve known 
Brocklehurst for over twenty years, and it’s not his 
way to submit meekly to another’s will. How- 
ever, we must wait and see ; at present all is 
well.” 

MacFarlane made up his mind, after deep 
thought, to say nothing to Brocklehurst about 
the night before, unless he spoke first. But Cuth- 
bert evidently thought it best to take the bull by 
the horns, and he referred casually to Gra’s removal 
to the blue room. 

“ Just because I was trying to see if I still had 
my old power,” he ended, with a shrug. 

MacFarlane took the matter lightly. 

“Oh, you’re a bad lot, Brock,” he said, laugh- 


230 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


ing. “If it had been some months ago I should 
have been seriously angry with you. However, 
once won't have hurt you. But Gra appears 
to be in a rage about it, and, really, I don't 
wonder. I shouldn't like to be hypnotized in my 
sleep.” 

“ Oh well,” Cuthbert yawned elaborately, “ I 
suppose it was rather mean. But you see she 
won’t consent to my trying when she’s awake, out 
of some silly idea that you instilled into her mind 
when I was ill — so what was I to do ? I think you 
might let me do it now and then, Mac — I’m quite 
well now.” 

“ No, I zvorit” said Mac firmly ; “ I consider that 
it is bad for you. It may be a silly prejudice, as 
you say — but surely, Brock, it’s not so important 
as all that ? ” 

“ Oh no ” — hastily — “ not at all. I — it only 
amuses me. Well, I see I must do without that 
amusement, that’s all.” 

So the matter ended apparently ; but Mac- 
Farlane was not satisfied. 

Once, when Gra was lying on a sofa in the 
smaller drawing-room, reading, her husband tried 
to hypnotize her without her knowledge. She had 
dropped her book, and her eyes were closing 
sleepily, when she saw in a looking-glass a re- 
flection from another '.glass. It was of her husband 
standing behind her with slowly, rhythmically 
moving hands. With an enormous effort of will 
she managed to sit up, then she turned to rend 
him. 

It was of no use him explaining that he was 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


231 


doing it for fun only, her wrath was not appeas- 
able, and, till they all migrated to Wane’s Ferry, 
the relations between husband and wife were 
strained. 

He tried to make peace many times ; but Gra, 
though she spoke to him quite pleasantly, was 
not the same “ chummy ” wife as of yore, and 
Cuthbert looked gloomy. 

She was so pleased to get to Wane’s again 
that she could no longer keep him in disgrace, 
and she came to him when he was walking in 
the rose-garden the day after their arrival and 
slipped her arm into his. 

“ I’ll make it up now,” she whispered mis- 
chievously, and he put his arm round her waist. 
“But you’re to be a good boy in future.” 

“ Won’t you come back to our room ? ” he asked 
wistfully. 

She shook her head. 

“ Not unless you give me your word of honour 
not to try that horrid experiment again.” 

He laughed rather bitterly. 

“ I daren’t promise — I might find the temptation 
too strong for me, and I should never forgive 
myself for breaking my word.” 

For this man had a curious code of honour 
that he had laid down for himself. He was certain 
that he had never broken his word — he had 
shuffled with the truth, deceived both his wife 
and doctor (as he thought), but he had not 
given his word not to hypnotize Gra — never ; no, 
never. 

Gra was now sleeping in a room situated on 


282 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


the same floor as her husband’s. The windows 
were next to his, and, like his, had a stone balcony 
to each. From here she would call to him gaily 
in the morning, and go on calling till he put a 
sleepy, untidy head out of his nearest window 
and greeted her. Once she made him step on to 
his balcony, and across the intervening space she 
threw a rose to him. 

“ Isn’t it lovely, Cuth ? ” she cried joyfully ; 
“it was growing just within reach on my side 
here. Hasn’t the creeper grown since last 
year ? ” 

He did not answer— he was staring at the rose. 

She laughed. 

“ I thought that you’d like it. Romantic, isn’t 
it, to throw a rose to a man from a balcony ? 
Now let’s dress ; I’m dying to be out. What a 
day ! ” 

“ I can’t part with her — I can’t part with her,” 
he muttered as he placed the rose in a vase on 
his dressing-table. Then he covered his face with 
his hands and groaned. 

“Am I mad, I wonder?” he said at last. “Yes, 
mad for her. I wish to God I’d never met 
her ! ” 

He went into the bathroom, and stood staring 
at the water. 

“ ‘ Till death do us part,’ ” he muttered. “ That’s 
all wrong. Why should death part those who 
have sworn to be one ? What have I ever done 
that she should not love me? Yet I can’t hate 
that man who has stolen her heart — I cant ; I wish 
I could — I would soon end it then. However, he is 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


233 


going soon — only a few weeks more ; then — then — 
well, I can always try.” 

He got into the warm water and splashed 
violently. 

“ Damn him ! ” he exclaimed, and ducked his 
head to wash the curse away. 


CHAPTER XXI 

H IPPOLYTE GRANDJEAN was a very 
light sleeper ; he also had preternaturally 
sharp hearing. 

One night, when he had been at Wane’s Ferry 
for a week, he wakened suddenly, and he wondered 
what had waked him. He lifted himself on his 
elbow and listened — he heard nothing. It was 
dark, there was no moon in the sky, so he 
knew it must be after one, the moon setting early 
these nights. He was just about to lie down again 
when he heard something, evidently the same sound 
that had awakened him. Far, far away, seemingly 
on the ground floor, there was a curious noise, very 
faint, and not continuous — a little grating sound 
with a jar at the end. After listening hard for 
a few moments he rose quickly, and put on his 
dressing-gown and slippers. He opened his door, 
and swiftly went along the corridor, down the 
few steps, and along another passage ; this brought 
him to the main landing of the second story. He 
leant over the well of the stairs and listened again. 
He could hear nothing. His cats’ eyes searched 
the darkness — nothing to be seen. He was perfectly 
sure he had heard a noise, and he made up his 
234 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


235 


mind to investigate, so he slipped down the stairs 
to the first floor. Here he went along the passage 
a little way and listened at Brocklehurst’s door — 
silence. Then to Gra's door — silence still. Back 
to the stairs crept Hippolyte, making no more 
noise than some soft-footed beast of the jungle 
would have made. 

“ I wonder what it was,” he thought, putting his 
head on one side and staring down into the hall. 
Just then he heard the grating jar again — clearer 
now; it undoubtedly came from the back of the 
house, on the ground floor. 

Sidling down the stairs, holding loosely on to 
the banisters, he went, walked across the hall, and 
softly opened the baize door leading to the kitchens. 
Now he could hear the noise clearly, and quite 
suddenly he knew what it was — some one was 
trying to open a window, the grating was a knife 
being scraped on the dried putty, the jar was caused 
by a small portion breaking off. 

Nimble as a kitten Grandjean flew up the two 
flights of stairs again, back along the corridors. His 
own room was exactly opposite the doorway that 
led to the west tower. He opened this door, 
went across MacFarlane’s sitting-room, and up the 
winding stairs to the bedroom ; he opened the door 
and spoke. 

“ Monsieur , riayez pas peur> c'est moiP 

“ Eh ? You, Hippolyte ? What is it?” 

“You must get up, and come with me; there 
is some one breaking into the house. We must 
not turn on the light — they might see : I will 
lead you. Have you a weapon of some kind ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


In a few seconds MacFarlane was in his dress- 
ing gown. 

“ Yes, I’ve two revolvers in my chest of drawers. 
You’d better find them — I can’t see. Top left-hand 
drawer. Got them ? Yes, they’re loaded. Come 
on. Where are they ? ” 

“ Somewhere by the kitchens. Give me your 
hand — so.” 

MacFarlane stumbled over many things in his 
rooms, but, once in the corridor, it was easier, and 
Hippolyte went ahead surely and silently. 

“ Be careful to make no noise on the first floor,” 
he whispered. “ We must not frighten monsieur or 
madame.” 

They arrived at the baize door without accident, 
and, as Hippolyte opened it, MacFarlane heard the 
noise for the first time. 

“ Here you must lead,” said Grandjean. “ I don’t 
know this part of the house.” 

MacFarlane clutched his revolver and walked 
steadily along a stone passage, turned to the left, 
and paused at a door. 

“ It’s here — the housekeeper’s room. Look here, 
Hippolyte, will you stay here, and I will step out 
of the side door and catch them in the rear — other- 
wise they’ll bolt ? See ? ” 

“ Go along. Be quick ! ” 

MacFarlane went back to the baize door ; here 
he turned to the left and went down two passages 
till he arrived at a door bolted and barred. There 
was a faint light here, as there were several un- 
covered windows, and the night, though moonless, 
was not pitch-dark. He felt the bolts, and eased 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


237 


them back and back slowly. The noise he made 
sounded to him like thunder, but it was really very 
slight, only a squeak or two. When the door was 
open, he slipped out and round the corner of the 
house. Behind a wild-currant bush he stopped, 
and peered out. A man was standing by a window 
working away at the window-pane with a curved 
instrument ; at his feet lay a bag. 

Slowly MacFarlane crept forward, walking on a 
grass border. Two yards from the unconscious 
thief he lifted his revolver and spoke. 

“ Lay down that tool ! ” 

There was no need to tell him to lay it down, it 
flew from his hand with a clatter as he jumped 
about two feet into the air. He whirled as he 
jumped, and looked down the muzzle of the revolver. 
Then he flung up his hands. 

“ Don’t shoot, guv’ner ! — don’t shoot ! ” 

“No, I shan’t shoot unless you attempt to run 
away, then I shall lame you. Are you alone ? ” 

“Yus. My mate’s waiting in the road. I’m 
quite alone.” 

“ Well, come along with me. It’s no good fight- 
ing, you know.” 

“ No ; it’s a fair cop. Where do you want me 
to go ? ” 

“ Here, Hippolyte — come here.” 

Hippolyte, hearing the voices, had come out by 
the door, and was coming to join them. 

“ Come and take his other arm. I shall lock him 
up till to-morrow in the old stone dairy.” 

The foreign language worried the burglar ; he 
sniffed. 


238 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


MacFarlane took his right arm with his left, 
keeping the pistol in his right hand. 

“ Now come.” 

The man made some incoherent pleadings for 
freedom, but MacFarlane paid no attention. Into 
the house they led him, along another passage, 
and MacFarlane opened a door. The place 
was perfectly dark. Far up by the ceiling was 
a window, the rest was stone. He pushed the 
man in. 

“ There you are ; you’ll be safe there, my friend.” 

He shut the door, and turned the key. 

“ Now, Hippolyte, we’d better go down to the 
road and look for this man’s companion. He’ll be 
waiting by the south lodge, I should think — it’s the 
nearest.” 

Hippolyte agreed, and they went down through 
the scented darkness to the shrubbery, cut through 
this to the south avenue, and so to the lodge gates. 
MacFarlane roused the lodge-keeper and explained 
matters, and the three searched the road and the 
avenue. There was not a sign of any one. 

They went down to the west lodge and searched 
there with the same want of success. 

“ I suppose he heard us coming and bolted,” 
sighed MacFarlane. “We can’t do any more, we’d 
better go back. Anyway, we’ve got one. Keep 
your eyes open, Jones, won’t you ? ” 

“Yes, sir, I’ll have another good look round as 
I go back ; but I fear he bolted, as you say.” 

“There’s two striking,” said MacFarlane as 
they turned to go back, and the distant chimes of 
the old church clock reached them faintly. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 239 

“ We must return through the shrubbery — it’s 
quicker, and I left the door open.” 

They walked quickly, and reached the shrubbery 
in a few minutes. 

“ What’s that ? ” suddenly exclaimed Hippolyte, 
clutching his companion’s arm, and standing still. 

“ What ? I heard nothing.” 

“It was footsteps — I know it was.” 

“ Nonsense ! Who could it be ? ” 

“ I could swear I heard them, over there to the 
right, on the gravel.” 

“ I heard nothing,” repeated MacFarlane, and 
they went on. 

He shut and bolted the side door, then went 
along to the old dairy. 

He tapped at the door. 

“You there,” he called — “you will be released 
from here in the morning when the police come. 
Do you hear ? ” 

No answer. 

“If you want water, there’s a tap somewhere 
there — you can feel for it.” 

No answer. 

“ Do you hear, my man ? ” 

No answer. 

Suddenly MacFarlane took hold of the key to 
turn it. It would not move. He had borrowed 
a match-box from the lodge-keeper, and he struck 
a match, then, holding it high, he stared at the 
door. 

“Will you answer me?” he called, and then 
turned to Hippolyte. “ The key has jammed, I 
can’t turn it.” 


240 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Hippolyte caught hold of the handle of the 
door and turned it — the door swung open ! 

“ Damn ! ” cried Mac. 

Then he struck another match. The dairy was 
empty ! 

MacFarlane stamped his foot. 

“What fools we were — what absolute childish 
fools ! That other man must have been quite close 
and seen it all, then, when our backs were turned, 
calmly came in and released his pal.” 

Hippolyte nodded. 

Suddenly MacFarlane pulled himself together. 

“ Hippolyte, they may be in the house. I must 
rouse the servants, and we must have a thorough 
search.” 

He lit the gas in the passages, then he went 
through the kitchens and up the back staircase, 
and roused the men. He came back followed by 
the butler, the valet, three footmen, and odd man, 
all clothed in the most extraordinary collection of 
things. 

“ You search here,” he ordered. “ I must go up 
to Mr. Brocklehurst, in case he hears all the noise, 
and wonders. Search thoroughly — every single 
hole and corner, mind. I’ll leave you the revolver. 
Come with me, Hippolyte.” 

The two men went out through the baize door, 
and MacFarlane turned up all the lights till the 
hall looked as bright as day. 

“ I don’t want to frighten madame,” he said 
as they mounted the stairs, ‘‘but I must wake 
Brocklehurst ; he’s a light sleeper and is sure 
to hear the noise. Luckily, madame’s door is 


SHADOW-SHAPES 241 

round the corner, and she won’t hear us at his 
door” 

He knocked softly on Cuthbert’s door. There 
was no reply. Then he knocked again and called 
“ Brock ” at the keyhole. At last he turned the 
handle — the door was locked ! 

“ Now, why on earth has he locked his door?” 
whispered MacFarlane. “ He never does, except 
in hotels. I must try the dressing-room.” 

They went into the dressing-room and turned 
on the light, then to the communicating door. 

That was locked too ! 

MacFarlane stared in absolute astonishment. 

“ Well ! ” 

“Try knocking here,” suggested Hippolyte; 
“ you can knock quite loud here — madame can’t 
possibly hear, as her room is quite in the opposite 
direction.” 

MacFarlane shuc the outer door, in case the 
noise should echo in the passage, then he knocked 
loudly and called. All was silence in the bed- 
room. He turned white. 

“ Hippolyte, there’s something the matter. He 
must be ill. He never sleeps as soundly as this — 
he never has since I’ve known him. What am I 
to do?” 

He knocked and knocked, receiving no answer. 
Then he remembered his old peephole, and picked 
out the plug, and looked through. All was dark ; it 
was only Gra who slept with a light. 

“ I must get in somehow.” 

He rushed out of the room, and downstairs, 
returning in a few minutes with a tool-box. 

16 


242 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


He knocked again before he set to work with 
the tools. He unscrewed the lock of the door, 
which was, luckily, an old-fashioned affair. 
Screw after screw he took out, placing them on 
a table by his side. Then he inserted a wrench, 
and tore the rest away. 

He was shaking with fear. What should he 
see in that room ? He tore open the door. 

“ What the devil are you doing ? ” cried a 
furious voice, and there in the window, illu- 
minated by the light streaming in from the 
dressing-room, stood Brocklehurst. 

“ Oh, thank God ! ” cried MacFarlane. 

The relief was almost too much for him, he sank 
down on a chair and stared at his friend. 

Brocklehurst was white with rage. He stared 
back at the two men, his eyes flashing. 

“ May I ask why you come to my room in the 
middle of the night and break in ? ” 

His voice was cold ; he could hardly control 
himself — he wanted to strike MacFarlane. 

“ I thought you were ill, Brock,' ” whispered the 
doctor. “ We knocked and knocked, and called 
and called, and you never answered. I was in an 
awful funk — you sleep so lightly as a rule.” 

“ I had just come up from the library. I was 
sitting on the balcony. It was too hot to sleep. I 
suppose I couldn’t hear from there. But why, 
pray, did you come at all ? ” 

Then he was told about the burglars, and he 
began to throw onjsome clothes quickly. 

His temper seemed to have disappeared — he 
could hardly be annoyed under the circumstances. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


243 


“ I’ll; go down. Get me my revolver, Mac; no 
— on the bottom shelf. Thanks. Are all the men 
up ? I’ll help them search downstairs ; I’ll send up 
Sawyer to you, and you three search the upper 
floors. Lord ! there are thousands of holes and 
corners they might hide in and never be found. 
Lock each room after you’ve examined it, and take 
away the key, so that they can’t slip back behind 
your back. Come on.” 

When he got to the passage he hesitated. 

“ I must lock Gra in,” he said quietly ; “ if they 
got into her room they’d frighten her to death.” 

He went round the corner to Gra’s door. 

“ Why, it’s locked ! ” he exclaimed, and Mac- 
Farlane thought that there was not sufficient 
surprise in his voice. 

“ So was yours,” he answered curtly ; and Brockle- 
hurst laughed. 

“My poor door? Yes, I’ve found several times 
lately that I’ve locked the doors. I can’t think why 
— hotel habit, I suppose.” 

“ Did you lock them at Curzon Street ? ” 

“ Yes, often.” 

Now MacFarlane knew that this was a lie, and 
he wondered. But he had no time to think of 
problems now — there was work to be done. 

“Send up Sawyer,” he said at the top of the 
stairs. “ We’ll wait here for him.” 

“Very well.” Brocklehurst descended quickly. 

Hippolyte caught hold of MacFarlane’s arm. 

“ Come back, quick ! ” he whispered. “ It’s our 
only chance.” 

“ Our only chance ? What for ? ” 


244 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


But Hippolyte drew him back to Brocklehurst’s 
room. 

“ Quick ! Go and sit on the balcony. I will 
knock and call ; see if you can hear me.” 

“ There’s no chair here,” cried his companion 
as he drew back the window-doors. 

“ Well, lean over the palisade. I will go outside. 
See, I will shut the broken door. Count the 
knocks you hear.” 

He went outside — first the dressing-room door, 
then the bedroom door — and knocked softly, and 
called. 

Then he went back. As he opened the door 
MacFarlane stepped into the room. 

“ I heard fifteen knocks and five calls,” he said. 

Then the two men stared at each other. 

“ And he had not just come up from the library,” 
remarked Hippolyte slowly ; “ when I first went 
down, on hearing the noise, there was no light in 
the library.” 

“ What does it mean ? ” 

“ We must find out. We have no time now ; we 
must search the house.” 


CHAPTER XXII 



HE men searched the house from top to 


1 bottom and could find no sign of the 
burglars. Hippolyte had been quite certain that 
they would not ; he reminded MacFarlane of the 
steps he had heard on the gravel on the east 
terrace. Evidently the moment the prisoner had 
been released, the two had bolted, not wishing 
to run any risks of encountering MacFarlane and 
Hippolyte. They had probably been hiding in 
the shrubbery, not daring to make for the outer 
railings — which they had apparently climbed — 
until the men who were searching the grounds had 
returned to the house ; then, on hearing voices in 
the shrubbery, they had slipped off the terrace and 
across the rose-garden to the copse, and hence to 
the park, whence they could easily reach the open 
country. 

It was no easy matter thoroughly to examine 
the great house ; it was full of odd corners, deep 
embrasures in the corridors and passages, queer 
cupboards, which in the far-off Norman days were 
counted as rooms, galleries, holes under staircases, 
and all manner of quaint hiding-places. But at 
last all was done, and by that time it was broad 


245 


246 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


daylight. Then Brocklehurst asked for coffee, and 
he sat down in the library. 

“ You will have some coffee with us, monsieur ? ” 
he said to Ilippolyte, and he consented thankfully 
— he was worn out. Since before one o’clock he had 
been on his feet, and he was exceedingly sleepy. 

“ I am very thankful to you,” Brocklehurst went 
on ; “ if you had not heard the noise they would 
have got in to a dead certainty. I suppose they 
were after the plate, but they would probably have 
burst open my cases of coins, and goodness knows 
what they would have done with them — very likely 
carted away the whole lot and melted them down.” 
He shuddered at the horrible thought. “ We owe 
our escape to you.” Then he looked at the absurd 
little figure with its bare legs dangling, and the 
small feet covered with the brilliant wool-work 
slippers, and he nearly laughed. It was so ridicu- 
lous to think that it was this insignificant person 
to whom he owed the safety of his wonderful 
collection. 

Grandjean had rushed up to his room after he 
and MacFarlane had roused the servants, and had 
put on his smoked glasses ; these added to his 
droll appearance. 

MacFarlane noticed Cuthbert’s amused expres- 
sion, and he smiled. How astonished his friend 
would be if he knew that that funny little man 
was one of the most powerful hypnotists he had 
ever seen ! 

Brocklehurst yawned loudly. 

“ Lord ! I’m tired,” he said. “ I wish they’d 
bring that coffee. I’ve had no sleep at all ; you 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


247 


others can’t have had much. I’ll tell the servants 
to let us sleep till we ring. I’d better write a note 
to Gra, to be given to her when they take her 
tea in, and then she won’t wonder at our non- 
appearance. I’m glad she was not disturbed — she 
is a wonderfully sound sleeper. Here’s the coffee, 
thank goodness — toast too, that’s all right. I’m 
as hungry as a hunter — after all, we were hunters. 
I’ll tell Lightfoot to telephone to the police about 
the events of the night. Just write down, Mac, a 
description of the man you caught, then Lightfoot 
can tell them.” 

“ Have mercy upon me, Brock,” sighed Mac- 
Farlane, with a wry face. “ I could kick myself 
when I think what a thundering fool I was. All 
that trouble to get the brute and lock him up, 
and then calmly leave him for his friend to re- 
lease. Ugh ! It makes me pretty sick, I can tell 
you.” 

Cuthbert laughed, with a piece of toast in his 
mouth. 

“ Don’t make me choke, Mac. Your face of 
despair, combined with your rough hair and 
your exceedingly sketchy costume, is enough to 
kill one. My dear chap, I should have done the 
same. I fail to see how you could have imagined 
that the man could be released the moment you’d 
turned your back. It was certainly pretty decent 
of his companion, and I rather hope he won’t be 
caught. That class of person is usually so anxious 
to save his own neck, he very seldom stops to see 
to his pal. His motto usually is, c Each for himself, 
and the devil take the hindmost.’ It was really 


248 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


quite remarkable for him to wait in danger, mind, 
and see his friend out of bondage. I wonder where 
they came from!; there’s not been a burglary about 
here for years.” 

“ He was a pure cockney,” said MacFarlane. 
“ He undoubtedly came from town — no mistaking 
the accent ” 

“ Then they are off, you may be quite sure. 
They probably caught the four-three train at 
Getsminster. They could cut across country and 
be there in a little over an hour. More coffee, 
Monsieur Grandjean ? No? Well, I vote we all 
turn in.” 

The three sleepy men went up to their beds. 
The sun was shining brightly, and the birds were 
singing with that peculiar clear-throated, flute-like 
song that they treat the world to only in the early 
morning. 

MacFarlane was too tired to think now ; he slept 
without moving till ten o’clock. 

From the landing window, on his way down- 
stairs, he caught sight of Gra in the garden, and 
he made his way to her before he went in to 
breakfast. 

She ran to meet him with excited face. 

“ Oh, I am so glad some one has appeared ! ” she 
exclaimed. “ I’m dying to hear all about it. I’ve 
cross-examined all the servants, but I want your 
account, as you were the hero of the adventure.” 

“ A poor hero, I’m afraid,” laughed Mac ; 
“ you’ve heard I let him go ? ” 

“ Oh, that is nothing. You caught him first. 
Have you had your breakfast? Well, I’ll come and 


SHADOW-SHAPES 249 

sit with you while you eat, and you must tell me 
the whole thing. Is Monsieur Hippolyte up?” 

“ I don't know. I listened at his door, and heard 
nothing. I’ll ask Sawyer. Ah, there goes Brock's 
blind ! He's evidently only just been called.” 

While he was sitting at breakfast he told Gra 
the whole story, and she was much interested. 

“ I’m glad they got off, poor things,” was her 
final verdict. 

When Brocklehurst appeared, just as Mac- 
Farlane had finished his meal, he looked cross. 

“ Lightfoot tells me that the police are coming to 
see us at twelve,” he said. “ Awful nuisance ; 
they’ll be pottering about all over the place for 
days — I know them.” 

“ I really think that we ought to start a night 
watchman again, Cuth.” Gra’s face was serious. 
u We ought to have got another when old Roberts 
died. We talked about it, and I don’t know why 
we never saw to it. You don’t want some one to 
break in and steal your collection, do you? — not 
to speak of the plate, and my jewellery.” 

“ I hate the idea of having a stranger about at 
night. Old Roberts I didn’t mind, I'd known him 
all my life. However, I suppose we must do it. 
I’ll see about it. I say, Gra, I don't like you sleep- 
ing alone now that there are burglars about; I 
think you’d better come back to me, don’t you ? ” 

Gra laughed merrily. 

“ Nonsense ! We’re as safe as we can be now 
that they've had a fright. You may be quite sure 
that they won't try again — for a long time, anyway. 
I’m not a bit nervous. But you’d better engage a 


250 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


man for night work. How about putting Jones on 
the job? Bob Jones and his mother can manage 
at the lodge all right, and Jones is thoroughly 
capable and trustworthy.” 

“A brilliant idea, Gra. Yes, Til send for him 
this morning and speak to him about it. Yes, Bob 
is quite old enough to help his mother now, he’s 
sixteen, isn’t he? Very well, I’ll send for Jones.” 

The police were important and fussy, as only 
county police can be. “ They were quite sure that 
they would catch the men; already they had a 
clue,” etc., etc. 

The household spent a busy day. What with 
another thorough search all through the house, to 
see that window and door locks were secure, inter- 
views with the police, and telephone messages from 
other police stations, MacFarlane and Hippolyte 
had hardly a moment in which to talk ; and only 
when night came could they discuss the mystery of 
the locked doors of the night before. An hour’s 
talk did not help them to elucidate matters. 

“ Anyway,” MacFarlane said finally, “ I am 
going to search that room thoroughly to-morrow. 
I shall somehow get him out of the way in the 
afternoon, and will have a go at it. There are all 
sorts of secret doors and passages in this house 
that I know nothing of, and there may be one in 
his room. I certainly never suspected it, as the 
walls are all papered in the modern way; but I 
am going to have a look round.” 

So the next day he asked Gra to make some 
excuse for taking her husband to Getsminster. 
He could give her no explanation of his extra- 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


251 


ordinary request, except that he thought Cuthbert 
required a long drive, as he was working too hard. 

Gra looked at him with rather a curious ex- 
pression as she promised to do his behest. She 
did not quite believe that his given reason was the 
true one, but she trusted him absolutely, and she 
knew that he would not ask her to do this thing 
unless it were for the good of Cuthbert or herself. 

MacFarlane felt horribly mean and conscious- 
smitten when he saw how eagerly Brocklehurst 
acquiesced when Gra asked him to drive with her. 
He sighed as he thought how he was deceiving this 
man. But what else could he do ? What would 
be the end of it if he made open war — told his 
friend that he knew all, and was going to circum- 
vent his design ? The only possible result would 
be his dismissal from the house — he would have 
to leave Gra to her fate, and wear out his heart 
in anxious loneliness. As it was, he was leaving 
her in a few weeks — leaving her to what ? Till the 
night before, he had been quite easy in his mind ; 
even now he could not think what had happened. 
But he was uncomfortable. Why had Brockle- 
hurst locked his doors ? Why had he told the 
lie? for it was a lie to say he had often locked 
the doors in Curzon Street — he, MacFarlane, had 
been to his room secretly at night too often not 
to know that the statement was untrue. He could 
not answer these questions, but he felt sure that 
there must be an answer. It might, of course, 
have nothing to do with Gra — he did not see how 
it could have ; but again, if not, what was the ex- 
planation ? 


252 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


When the motor had started off with Gra and 
her husband, he and Hippolyte went upstairs to 
Brocklehurst’s room. There was not much chance 
of any servant coming to interrupt them. Light- 
foot, the valet, had, much to MacFarlane’s delight, 
asked for the afternoon off to go to a distant farm, 
where he had some relatives. No other servant 
would have any excuse for entering the master’s 
room. 

“ See, he’s had the lock mended,” said Hippolyte, 
pointing to the dressing-room door. 

“ Yes,” answered MacFarlane, examining it, “ and 
it is a different kind of lock. It could not be 
opened from this side now.” 

They entered the room. 

“ First the floor,” said the doctor. “ I know that 
in the Pompadour room there was a passage under 
the floor till Brocklehurst had it all fastened down. 
You begin by the window, I’ll begin this side, 
and we’ll meet in the middle. It is entirely covered 
with the carpet, I know ; but examine the nails 
round the edge carefully to see if they have been 
moved, or have false heads or anything. Then see 
if there is any join in the carpet that is not a real 
join. Move the furniture ; we must look under 
everything.” 

Both men went down on their hands and knees, 
and inch by inch the floor was examined. There 
was no heavy furniture to move, as the chest of 
drawers and press were in the dressing-room, and 
Gra’s furniture had been moved to her own room, 
as it was her favourite suite. There was only a 
sofa, a few arm-chairs, a writing-table, and some 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


263 


small tables. The bed Hippolyte crawled under 
Not one suspicious mark could they find. The 
joins in the carpet were firmly sewn, the nails were 
firmly fixed. 

“ No, it’s not the floor,” said MacFarlane, rising 
to his feet, and stretching his aching back. “ Now 
for the walls. I’ll get the steps I brought up — 
they're outside. We must press every inch of the 
paper, there might be a secret spring as there is 
in the armoury — I showed you, you remember ? 
The cupboards would be the most likely — we’ll try 
them first, then the fire-place.” 

There were three cupboards, all unlocked. In 
one they found some rough planks. 

“ How careless ! ” exclaimed MacFarlane. “ The 
workmen must have left these when they did up 
the room last spring. However, I can’t give my- 
self away by telling Brocklehurst I’ve discovered 
them. They must stay ; no one uses the cupboard, 
evidently. No, there’s nothing here ; there’s no 
join in the paper, so nothing could open. Now 
for the chimney-piece. Isn’t this marble beautiful?” 

Each grape and tendril of the fine carving was 
pushed and pulled by the doctor’s sensitive finger- 
tips. Then suddenly something happened. 

There was a crack, a rattle of mortar falling 
somewhere behind, and the left-hand panel of the 
marble fell to one side. Both men exclaimed. 

But the discovery ended in nothing. All that 
was disclosed was a small empty cavity originally 
intended for hiding valuables — a primitive safe, 
unused for many, many long years. It had not 
been opened, anyway for a very long time, it was 


254 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


full of dust that had crept in through the infini- 
tesimal crack in the opening. Mac shut it again, 
and heard the click of the hidden spring. 

He looked up the chimney, but here his eye- 
sight told him there was no possibility of any one 
having passed, the soot was undisturbed. 

They mounted the steps in turn and pressed 
their fingers over the walls, they pulled and 
pushed at the mouldings of the doors and windows 
— all without result. 

They then went on to each balcony and tried 
the outer wall, but with equal failure. 

Tired and dirty, they stared at each other when 
all was done. 

“ I suppose we’ve made fools of ourselves ! ” 
exclaimed MacFarlane irritably. “ He must have 
been outside with the windows pulled to. Like 
that, he probably would not have heard us.” 

“ Why pull the windows to?” asked Hippolyte 
abruptly; “it was a hot night, and he always 
likes air.” 

“ I don’t know — don’t ask me. All I know is 
that I’ll swear that there is no secret passage 
from this room to another. And he certainly was 
in this room, and not out of it. He was very 
likely asleep and didn’t like to say that he was 
sleeping like a hog — he’s proud of being a 
light sleeper. No, Hippolyte, we’ve given our- 
selves a fright for nothing As to why he locked 
the doors — God knows ! I have no explanation. 
Perhaps he really did lock them sometimes at 
Curzon Street, and it’s just a chance that it was 
not the nights we wanted to get in. That is the 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


255 


only thing I can think of. He won’t be likely 
to do it again after last night ; he’s not an 
absent-minded man as a rule.” 

Hippolyte could suggest nothing better, but he 
was puzzled. He thought and thought. 

The result of his thinking was shown to Mac- 
Farlane the next morning. As he was dressing, 
there came a knock at his door, and the French- 
man entered. He sat down on a chair and made a 
queer gesture expressing worry and uncertainty. 
Then he said quietly : 

“ I went to monsieur’s room at half-past one 
this morning. I waited in the oriel-window alcove 
for him to come up from the library. He had his 
bath first, then he went through the dressing-room 
to the bedroom. He locked the door, and tried it 
to make sure ; then he went across the room to 
the bedroom door and locked that, and he tried 
that. He turned the handle and pulled to see 
that it was secure.” 

“ Good heavens ! ” 

“ Then I listened at the door. He walked about 
the room, turned some handle, and dragged some- 
thing across the room. After that I heard nothing. 
I waited for ten minutes, then I knocked — I made 
up my mind to say that I’d heard a noise down- 
stairs — there was no answer. I tried both doors, 
knocking at each. I could not make him hear.” 

MacFarlane sat down on his bed, and the 
two men stared at each other blankly. 

Then Hippolyte quietly left the room. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


M ACFARLANE finished dressing as if he 
were in a dream. His brain seemed 
deadened, he could not think coherently. He 
knew that he wanted to think — to think hard ; but 
he could not fix his thoughts on any one thing. 
This was an unusual state of affairs ; concentration 
was a matter of habit with him as a rule, but 
now he felt as if his brain were empty, a mere 
forty odd ounces of useless matter. He went on 
with the process of dressing automatically, thinking 
of surrounding objects, of his clothes, of his toilet 
articles, and not once of the great problem that 
he knew he would have to solve. 

Presently his eye alighted on his medicine-chest. 
“Yes,” he thought, “ I’ve forgotten to put in 
that extra shelf ; I must do it to-day.” 

He went over to the cupboard, found the key on 
his bunch, and opened it. 

“Yes, all those small bottles must be kept 
together. I think, perhaps, I had better put up 
my smaller cupboard alongside. That would be 
more suitable.” 

He took up and fingered one or two bottles, 
then his hand closed on a small bright box con- 
256 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


257 


taining his hypodermic syringe, and suddenly he 
was quite still. He remained there for several 
minutes with the box in his hand, then he put it 
back and closed the door, and locked it. 

He stepped briskly across the room, down the 
winding stairs, and through his sitting-room. He 
knocked at Grand jean’s door and entered. 

“ Well ? ” queried the Frenchman. 

“ I’ve been thinking.” 

He had not, but he was not aware of it. Only 
the last five minutes had brought any enlighten- 
ment. He sat down and frowned. 

“Look here, Hippolyte. We’ve proved beyond 
a doubt that Brocklehurst does not leave his room. 
Then what makes him deaf to knockings ? He 
doesn’t drink — that’s certain. It must be drugs. 
Mind, it’s an absolute conundrum to me as to 
why he should, but, as far as I can see, it is the 
only thing possible. He must take morphia. That 
deadens him, and he flings himself on his bed, and 
hears nothing.” 

Hippolyte frowned. 

“ The other night, when we broke in — had he 
taken morphia then? You would have noticed 
it, surely ? He seemed quite normal to me.” 

“ He might have taken it some time before ; it 
would have had time to work off a bit.” 

“His bed had not been disturbed — I noticed 
that,” protested Grandjean. 

MacFarlane bit his lip. 

“ Well, I can’t help it,” he exclaimed, somewhat 
impatiently. “ It’s the only thing I can think of. 
I shall make some excuse to go in to-morrow 
17 


258 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


when he’s bathing, and I’ll see if there are any 
marks of injections — one can easily see.” 

So the next morning he knocked at Brockle- 
hurst’s bathroom door when he heard splashing. 

He opened the door a few inches. 

“ Sorry, Brock, but I want something.” 

“ Oh, come in.” 

“ Have you any Scrubb’s Ammonia ? I thought 
you used it, and I’m out of it.” 

“No; I have bath-salts, though — there, on the 
shelf. You can take the box.” 

He rose from the bath and began to rub with a 
rough towel. 

“ I say, you’re getting fat ! ” cried MacFarlane. 

Brocklehurst stretched out his arm and laughed. 

“Yes, I am fatter, there’s no doubt of that. I 
hope I shan’t get really fat ; my mother was 
immense.” 

“ No. Your bones are too big.” 

MacFarlane’s voice was depressed, and his com- 
panion noticed it and grinned. 

“ You sound disappointed, Mac. Mean of you — 
I should hate to be fat.” 

MacFarlane was disappointed, but it was because 
he could not discover one single suspicious mark 
on the skin of the man standing naked before 
him. 

He made some laughing remark, and went away, 
clutching the unneeded bath-salts. 

He and Hippolyte had many consultations as to 
what they should do. Neither of them thought 
it was possible that Brocklehurst got into his wife’s 
room at night— they had searched too carefully not 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


259 


to be certain of this, and they knew that Gra kept 
her door locked. Both of them tried her door 
several times, and not once did they find it 
unlocked. 

But the problem remained. What happened to 
Cuthbert after he entered his room ? Why should 
he lock his door ? Why could he hear no sound 
when they knocked ? 

Anxiety for Gra was now superseded in Mac- 
Farlane’s mind by anxiety for his friend. He 
felt sure that something was wrong. He gave him 
a thorough overhauling, but could not discover 
any symptoms to give him uneasiness. The heart 
was as well as it had been on their return to 
England, there was no sign of drug-taking, drink the 
doctor knew was impossible — sometimes Cuthbert 
forgot to take even his nightly glass of whisky and 
soda. Had he taken to sleeping soundly ? he 
wondered. It would be curious if he had. Usually 
the sleep of men over forty is lighter instead of 
heavier, and, as he well knew, his friend had 
ever been an exceedingly light sleeper, that is 
why he had always been so terrified of waking 
him by making the faintest noise when he used to 
steal into the dressing-room at night. 

He and the Frenchman discussed every possible 
elucidation of the mystery, but could arrive at no 
satisfactory result. 

MacFarlane proved for himself that Hippolyte’s 
account of what happened at night, after Brockle- 
hurst came up from the library, was correct. He 
watched from the alcove and listened. Then, on 
the two doors being locked, he heard the dragging 


260 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


sound Grandjean had described — after that, silence. 
He went to the door and knocked, receiving no 
response. 

“ He hasn’t had time to get to sleep ! ” he 
exclaimed irritably. “ Good heavens ! The thing 
is driving me mad. What does he do ? ” 

At last the moon was full, and he decided to 
see what he could discover by peering through the 
old peephole in the dressing-room door. The 
moment both doors were locked he slipped into 
the room, withdrew the plug, and placed his eye 
to the tiny hole. He could see the bed and part 
of the wall, but nothing else. He heard the man 
inside drag something across the room, but could 
not see him. He tried the keyhole, but from there 
could only see a cupboard. Brocklehurst was not 
on the bed when he knocked and received no 
answer. 

He talked over with Hippolyte a wild plot of 
hiding himself in one of the empty cupboards in 
the room, but at last realized that this would be 
useless. He would have to be shut in it, in case 
Cuthbert should notice the door standing ajar ; 
and what could he see from there? Nothing. He 
could not bore a hole, as the cupboards were all 
painted white, and Brocklehurst’s eyes were very 
sharp. The dressing-room door had been easy — 
it was of mahogany and much moulded, his tiny 
peep-hole was well hidden in a crevice. He then 
thought of boring a hole in the ceiling ; this could 
easily be hidden in the very ornamental cornice. 

At last this was decided on, and he and the 
Frenchman spent hours measuring and tapping. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


261 


They had to choose the times when Brocklehurst 
was out of the house. Luckily, he was now allowed 
to ride, and he and Gra went for long rides about 
the country. 

The room over Cuthbert’s was a spare room, and 
the two conspirators rolled up the carpet, took up 
some boards, and there, diving up to the elbows in 
dust and cobwebs, they strove to find the exact 
spot in which to bore their hole. MacFarlane 
went to the lower room, and, mounted on steps, 
drove a long skewer through the plaster ; then 
upstairs again to feel all along, to try to find the 
protruding point. 

At the third try he succeeded, and he enlarged 
the hole. Downstairs he filled in the useless 
apertures with plaster, and painted them with 
Chinese white, putting the white also round the 
larger hole. This was in the middle of a plaster 
flower, and, standing down on the floor and looking 
up, it was impossible to distinguish it. He care- 
fully collected every tiny spot of plaster from the 
carpet before he retired from the bedroom. 

Lying flat on his face upstairs, with his arms and 
head in the space between floor and ceiling, he 
could see through the hole a good portion of the 
room. Two cupboards, the sofa, and three arm- 
chairs were fully visible. 

That night he watched, leaving Hippolyte down- 
stairs to come up and tell him when Brocklehurst 
had entered his room. 

It was all entirely useless. The room was 
bright with moonlight, and he could see clearly, 
but Cuthbert passed only once in his line of vision ; 


262 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


that was when he first entered the room and went 
over to the other door to lock it. After that he 
did not see him again. 

Hippolyte ran down again and knocked at the 
doors. MacFarlane could hear the knocking from 
where he was, but all was silence in the room 
under him. 

He was in despair. He rose from his uncom- 
fortable position, and stamped his foot. 

“ I won't give up ! ” he cried to Grandjean. “ I 
shall try in all four sides of the room. We must 
go through the whole performance over again.” 

The next day he received a shock. 

While he was dressing, a telegram was brought 
to him. He opened it, to find that it was a cable 
from Fai, from India. 

“ Is anything wrong with Gra ? Cable. Fai.” 

He turned giddy and sick. He knew quite 
well from experience that Fai’s “ feelings,” as she 
called them, were not to be ignored. 

He sent her a reassuring cable, then went down 
and confided in his faithful “ secretary.” 

For some time now Grandjean had not hypnotized 
Gra, in fact ever since they had been at Wane’s 
Ferry. He and MacFarlane had made quite sure 
before they left town that her husband’s hypnotic 
suggestion had been totally ousted from her mind. 
Nearly every day in Curzon Street she had been 
put to sleep by the Frenchman, and time after 
time had answered his questions without hesitation, 
giving in a clear voice a repetition of his silent 
commands to her. There had for the last half- 
dozen times never been the faintest sign of un- 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


263 


certainty such as there had been at first, when 
she had once begun the sentence with “ When you 
die.” No; they were perfectly sure that all was 
well with her — there was nothing left of the old 
influence. 

“ I will hypnotize her to-day,” said Hippolyte 
quickly. “ I will try if I can discover anything. It’s 
very difficult. I can’t hope for a moment that I 
shall be successful. If he has got at her, she will 
not know it.” 

“Very well — try. Take her down to the old 
stone summer-house. I will stay with Brocklehurst, 
and see that he does not come out. After break- 
fast is the best time.” 

Gra assented willingly, and went into the garden 
with Hippolyte, laughing and talking merrily. 

Hippolyte bent over her anxiously, and in a 
minute she was asleep. 

He could not think why he felt so nervous as he 
put the question : 

“Tell me what you are to do. What orders 
have you received ? ” 

Without an instant’s pause Gra answered seri- 
ously : 

“ When you die, I am to die too, Cuth.” 

The Frenchman tumbled on to a seat, white and 
shaking. The perspiration came out on his great 
forehead in drops, his beautiful white hands were 
shaking. 

“Oh, mon Dieu! — mon Dieu /” he groaned. “How 
has he got at her ? ” 

Then he pulled himself together and questioned 
her. She knew nothing. As he had feared, she 


264 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


was utterly unconscious of her husband’s machina- 
tions. 

For half an hour he threw out every bit of his 
will-power, to try to counteract that other influ- 
ence. It was harder than it had ever been before. 
Over and over again she repeated the horrible 
words ; only quite at the end, when he was utterly 
exhausted, could he get a sentence that was a 
muddle of the two commands — his and Brockle- 
hurst’s. 

He wakened her at last, and she could not fail to 
notice his grave, preoccupied face. 

He said he had neuralgia, and asked her, as 
lightly as he could, to consent to him hypnotizing 
her oftener. 

“ I am losing my power,” he said dismally. 

She laughed. 

“ Of course you can do it as often as you like, if 
it gives you pleasure. I don’t mind in the least. 
I’m only too pleased to do anything to show my 
gratitude for the discovery you made about my 
husband. I’m sure he has been better since we 
stopped it.” 

He assented absent-mindedly. 

She proposed a walk in the gardens, but he said 
he must get back to work. 

How was he to tell MacFarlane ? That was the 
question that was worrying him. He knew that 
it would be a terrible shock. 

It was worse than he had thought. 

MacFarlane seemed to utterly collapse. He 
looked years older after the revelation. 

“ And we leave here in four weeks,” was the 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


265 


first broken remark he gave vent to. “ Hippolyte, 
my brain is whirling. I can’t think any more. You 
must plan something.” 

Hippolyte was thoughtful. 

“Well, I have arranged to hypnotize her every 
day,” he began quietly. “ She consented willingly. 
We must go on with the ceiling plan. She tells 
me that they are going to Steep Denes this after- 
noon ; perhaps we shall have enough time to bore 
two holes — then you can move from one to the 
other.” 

MacFarlane nodded. 

“Yes, we must do what we can. But I don’t 
think we shall succeed. He’s too cunning. There 
must be some secret way that we did not dis- 
cover.” 

The Frenchman was hardly less downhearted. 
His pride was humbled. He had thought that his 
will was strong — that he could do anything he 
wished ; but this other man had bested him. Three 
weeks only he had had to do it in — that was 
probably ten seances — yet it had been enough 
to wipe out from his wife’s mind all the professional 
hypnotist’s influence, wipe it out as though it had 
never existed. And, as MacFarlane had said, 
what was to happen after they left? Now, for the 
four weeks remaining to them, he could probably 
destroy in his turn all other suggestions ; but what 
about the future ? Also there was that other con- 
sideration — he could not watch now when Cuthbert 
was hypnotizing his wife, and will her to answer 
the empty words to calm her husband’s suspicions. 
Would he not in time realize without any doubt 


266 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


that her mind had been tampered with by some 
other ? 

He began to think that it was hopeless, unless 
they could invent a plan to stop the whole thing. 

Then he jumped to his feet and gave a loud 
exclamation. 

MacFarlane looked up. 

“ I have it ! ” the Frenchman cried excitedly. 
“ We must burn out her room, then she will have 
to move to another ! ” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


M ACFARLANE made up his mind to speak 
to Gra, and see if he could manage to 
get her away on a visit. Even a week or two 
would give him time to think. To one thing he 
had absolutely made up his mind — he must not 
leave, as arranged, on the fifth of August, unless 
by some means he could put a stop to what was 
going on. That Brocklehurst, in some mysterious 
way, had access to his wife’s room, both he and 
Hippolyte were certain. That this must end, he 
swore to himself — it should not go on. If every- 
thing failed, then he must carry out Grandjean’s 
melodramatic suggestion, and make Gra’s room 
unfit for habitation. He was loath to do this if 
he could think of anything else ; in the meanwhile 
he wanted time to think. Perhaps if Gra were 
away, and the cause of his acute anxiety removed 
for some days, he might be able to plan something ; 
at present he was too uneasy, his brain would not 
work clearly. 

The next day he asked Gra to go for a walk 
with him after breakfast while Cuthbert was work- 
ing, and she consented willingly. 

" What’s the matter, Mac ? ” she asked, as they 
267 


268 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


entered the park by the shrubbery gate. “ You’ve 
been looking worried for days. What is it ? ” 

“ My dear,” he answered gravely, “ I haven’t 
wanted to bother you, but now I must. I can’t 
get on without your help any longer.” He hesi- 
tated a moment, then went on speaking quickly 
and decidedly. “ I have been anxious about Brock 
for some time — ever since we arrived at Wane’s, in 
fact. I gave him a thorough overhauling the other 
day, and I found that things were not as right 
as they should be. I did not tell him this — I 
thought it better not to. I couldn’t understand 
what the reason for it was ; it was the same as 
it used to be in Curzon Street while he was 
hypnotizing you. I thought this was impossible 
now, so I was greatly puzzled. Then I began to 
fear he was taking drugs.” 

“ Drugs ! ” interrupted Gra, opening her eyes 
widely. “ Why on earth did you think of that ? ” 

He told her of the locked doors, and of his 
having had to break in the door on the night of 
the burglary. 

She was astonished and incredulous that it could 
have been anything but a chance, but, when he 
went on to tell her that he had found out that 
the doors were always locked, she stopped still 
by a tree, and looked up at him with a very 
serious face. 

“ Oh, Mac, is it drugs ? ” she gasped. 

“No. I have proved that it is not that.” 

“Well, what ? ” 

He looked round him at the beautiful grass and 
trees, and bit his lips. 


SH ADO W-SH APES 269 

“Gra, I hate to say it, but he has started his 
old habit — he is hypnotizing you again.” 

She cried out. Then she shrugged her shoulders 
rather irritably. 

“ Impossible, Mac ! I sleep in another room now, 
and I always lock my door.” 

“ I know. But there’s no doubt about it. 
Hippolyte first thought of it — that is why he asked 
you to let him hypnotize you yesterday. He found 
out for certain then.” 

Gra sank down on the short grass, and hugged 
her knees. She looked up at him with intense 
bewilderment. 

“ How ? ” she began. “ Oh, Mac, I can’t believe 
it. How could he manage it ? ” 

“ That’s what’s bothering me. I have thought 
and thought till my brain feels positively addled. 
There must be a secret door from his room to 
yours.” 

“But, Mac, I’m sure there isn’t. When the rooms 
were repapered three years ago, I saw them when 
the old paper was stripped off the walls. There 
wasn’t a sign of anything of the kind. It was 
then that I discovered the secret door in the 
Pomegranate room — you remember I told you of 
it — I saw the join in the mortar, and we tried and 
tried till we found the spring. I told the work- 
men to be careful to look in every room for secret 
passages, etc. — I’m always so excited about them. 
These rooms were papered again the other day 
too. I’m certain that there is nothing of the kind.” 

“ Well, how do you account for it? That the 
fact is there, we can’t get away from. First ” — he 


270 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


began to tick off on his fingers — “he locks both 
his doors, a thing he never used to do. Then he 
does not hear us when we knock, though it is quite 
easy to hear from any part of the room — we’ve 
tried. Three — he makes excuses, and says he locked 
the door without thinking (he does not know that 
we have tried since, and that they are always 
locked). Four — when you are asked, in hypnotic 
sleep, you say that he has hypnotized you. How 
are we to get away from all that ? ” 

Gra took off her hat and fanned herself with it. 

“ My brain, too, is becoming addled. What do 
you propose to do ? ” 

“ That’s what I wanted to see you about. I 
want to know if we can’t conspire to stop it for 
a bit, then it will give me time to think and 
see if I can’t manage something. Could you go 
away for a week or two? Mrs. Selwyn would 
be delighted to have you, and she is a thoroughly 
good pal. I propose that you send her a telegram 
to-day saying this : 4 Will you write by return 
asking me to come to you at once for a week 
or so ? Don’t refer to this telegram. Will explain.’ 
You can easily tell her the truth when you see 
her.” 

“ Um — m,” mused Gra. 

“You see, it must be put a stop to, Gra. It is 
doing him more harm than anything else.” 

“ Why can’t Monsieur Hippolyte influence me, 
as he did before, to wake up when Cuth comes 
into the room ? Then I could stop it easily. If 
I found out how he came, I could put something 
in front of the secret door and prevent him coming 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


271 


again. Can’t we try that? I don’t want to go 
away just now — I — oh, Mac, you will be here for 
only a few weeks more ! ” 

It was very seldom that Gra said as much as 
this, and MacFarlane’s heart leapt. He had been 
standing by her side, now he flung himself on to 
the grass. His eyes were on a level with hers, 
and he looked at her with a terrible yearning. 

“ Oh, Gra, Gra ! ” The words were almost a 
sob. 

She put her hand on his head, smoothing back 
the fair hair tenderly. A great love looked out of 
her eyes. 

“ I have tried,” she said brokenly — “ oh, I have 
tried so hard, Mac. But I shall never cease to 
love you. I think if you were a brute, and were 
always trying to tempt me, I might succeed in — in 
unloving you. But, you understand, you are so 
strong, you help me so. Oh, my Mac, my dreams 
are all I have. Am I wicked to dream, Mac ? I 
can’t help it. Your arms are often round me then, 
and somehow it never seems wrong.” 

He had buried his face in his arms as he lay flat 
on the grass, and now he groaned. 

“ For God’s sake, stop ! My darling, my darling, 
I am not strong. You are driving me mad.” 

She heard the agony in his voice, and she 
stretched out her arms suddenly ; then she dropped 
them to her lap, and slowly, drearily, she rose to 
her feet. 

“ Come, dear,” she said quietly, “ we must go on. 
We must talk out this subject of Cuth. I think it 
would be best, before I ask Letty to invite me, to 


272 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


try what Monsieur Hippolyte can do. You see 
what I mean, don’t you ? I will lie facing the 
wall between the two rooms, then if there is a 
secret door I shall be bound to see it, and I can 
take precautions afterwards. Was he there, do you 
think, last night ? ” 

“ No — the night before. He will probably try 
to-night. It’s curious how he sticks to the letter 
of his word — he promised me never to work two 
nights in succession, and he calls hypnotism ‘ work.’ 
It may not be to-night, but it very likely will 
be.” 

“ I tell you what,” cried Gra — “ we won’t try 
anything hypnotic. I’ll just lie awake; it won’t 
hurt me for once. I can easily do it. That’s 
better than waking up, you see, I’m less likely 
to yawn or something. If I am lying awake I 
can keep my eyes fixed on the wall, and then 
when he comes in I can pretend not to see. I 
think that best. I will let him hypnotize me, 
and he won’t ever know that I was awake. Then 
to-morrow I’ll arrange matters so that he can’t 
get in again. What do you think, Mac ? ” 

MacFarlane agreed. 

That night Gra took two cupfuls of black 
coffee the last thing before getting into bed. She 
knew that her husband would not come upstairs 
till about one, so she read till after half-past twelve. 
Then she turned off her light, leaving only the 
night-lamp. 

Her bed was parallel with the outer wall and 
windows, which were on her right as she lay in 
bed. The wall between her room and her husband’s 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


273 


was facing her. She arranged herself on her left 
side, with her head bent very much down, so that, 
through half-closed eyes, she could see the whole 
of the party-wall. The night was hot and heavy, 
great clouds were rolling over the sky, and the 
moon was invisible ; hardly a breath of air entered 
by the wide-open window — there was that peculiar 
stillness that sometimes precedes a storm. 

She lay quietly, thinking of various things to 
keep herself awake. The walls were too thick for 
her to hear when Cuthbert should enter the next 
room, she must trust to her eyes. She kept them 
half-closed in case he should have a means of 
seeing her before he came in. She wished him 
to think her asleep. 

After about three-quarters of an hour she fancied 
she heard a faint sound, but, though she listened 
carefully, it was not repeated. She counted the 
roses on the paper, and wondered if it were possible 
for an opening to be hidden there. She herself 
thought it unlikely — yet Mac was so sure. 

Suddenly she felt very drowsy — a curious drowsi- 
ness very difficult to fight against. It was not like 
ordinary sleepiness, she thought — more like the 
feeling she had when she was being hypnotized. 
Then, as she thought this, she gasped. She tried 
to move, but her limbs would not obey her will. 
With a fearful effort, that seemed to wrench her 
heart, she tore open her eyes ; she saw two hands 
over her head, and recognized them as Cuthbert’s 
hands. She knew that he was standing behind her. 
Again she tried to move, to call out, to do some- 
thing — anything — to break the spell, but she was 
18 


274 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


helpless. The next thing she was conscious of 
was the song of birds, and when she opened her 
eyes it was broad day. 

She looked at her watch — it was seven o’clock. 

Then the events of the night came back in a 
rush to her mind, and she sprang from the bed, her 
face white and frightened. 

She ran across to her writing-table, and was 
beginning to write a note to MacFarlane, when she 
changed her mind. It would be safer to write to 
Hippolyte. 

She dashed off a few lines in French, asking him 
to go up to MacFarlane and wake him, and for 
both of them to meet her at eight o’clock in the 
stone summer-house. 

Then she rang, ordered her tea to be brought at 
once, and sent up the letter to Grandjean. 

She could not think coherently. What did it 
all mean ? She was certain that she had not taken 
her eyes off that wall, yet she was equally certain 
that Cuthbert had been in the room. How had he 
got in ? The window was impossible. The only 
creeper outside was a frail rose-tree, not strong 
enough to support a child. There were no pipes or 
anything to climb by. His balcony was separated 
from hers by seven or eight feet of space with a 
sheer drop in between to the ground twenty feet 
below. How could he get up to the window, if it 
was by the window he had entered — which she 
doubted? In any case Mac had told her that, 
after once entering his room and locking the doors, 
Cuthbert did not pass out again, therefore a ladder 
was impossible. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


275 


She shuddered; she was terrified; she hardly 
knew why, but the horror of the unknown was 
over her as she dressed. 

She slipped from the room and hurriedly ran 
downstairs, and out into the rose-garden. She 
stumbled up the steps to the summer-house, and 
flung herself into a chair, panting. MacFarlane 
and the Frenchman were waiting for her. 

MacFarlane patted her shoulder to soothe her. 

“ Hush ! ” he said gently, “ don’t worry, Gra. Tell 
us, and see what we can do to help.” 

“ Will you ride into Getsminster for me this 
morning, Mac ? I shall send a wire to Letty 
Selwyn, I can’t stay here — I’m frightened. I shall 
ask her to wire for me. I must go away on Friday. 
I can’t go till then, because of the garden-party on 
Thursday.” 

“ Yes— yes. I’ll go. It will be all right. Now 
try and tell us quietly what it is.” 

As calmly as she could, she began the story. 
By the time' she had finished, she was trembling 
from head to foot. She spoke in French for 
Hippolyte’s benefit, and, as she went on, the little 
man looked very grave. 

“ Mac!” — she held out one trembling hand to him, 
which he took and stroked — “ I’m a fool, but I was 
frightened. I don’t know why. I knew it was 
Cuth, but it was awful. I have never minded him 
doing it before, but last night I felt — oh, I felt 
horrible . It seemed to me as if he weren’t the same, 
as if he were evil somehow. I felt as if there were 
some hateful influence by me, and this morning I 
have a curious feeling as if I’d been made to 


276 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


promise something ghastly. I can’t explain — its 
all so intangible ; but, Monsieur Hippolyte, will 
you hypnotize me, please, and see what you can 
do? You may be able to calm me.” 

“ Yes. That is best. Put your head back — so.” 

MacFarlane had his face buried in his hands 
as the Frenchman sent the woman to sleep. He 
lifted it, and looked at her with dulled eyes, as 
Hippolyte put the question as to what commands 
she had received. 

Without a moment’s hesitation she gave the order 
that Cuthbert had given her. 

MacFarlane groaned. 

“ Try and calm her,” he whispered. “ And give 
the contrary suggestion. We must gain time. I 
will get her away from here on Friday.” 

She awoke feeling considerably quieter. 

“ Could you find out how he got in ? ” she asked 
anxiously. 

Hippolyte shook his head. 

“No. I can find out only what you know 
yourself.” 

“ Don’t worry, Gra, we will find out,” said Mac- 
Farlane. “ In the meanwhile you must get away. 
I will ride into Getsminster after breakfast.” 

He sent a telegram to Mrs. Selwyn asking her 
to telegraph for Gra. Then, just as he was 
handing it in, he thought he had better provide 
for accidents, and he added : 

“If you are by any chance unable to have me, 
wire MacFarlane, Wane’s Ferry, not to me.” 

No telegram came that day, and Gra was worried. 
The next morning MacFarlane received an answer: 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


m 


" So sorry ; your wire sent on here by post. Am 
staying with the Rodgers. Just off in yacht. 
Impossible to postpone.” 

There was no one else that Gra cared to trust. 
Lady Ethersbury was abroad — Gra was not quite 
sure where ; her last letter had said that she was 
going on to Carlsbad or Homburg, and that she 
would let her daughter know. 

That night Gra was quite ill, and she made up 
her mind to ask her maid to sleep in her room. 


CHAPTER XXV 

HE garden-party, of which Gra had spoken 



1 to MacFarlane, was a very big affair indeed. 
It was an omnium gatherum such as owners of 
large country houses feel obliged to give once or 
twice a year. There were all sorts and conditions 
of men, from a Secretary of State, who was cam- 
paigning in the neighbourhood, to rich tenants of 
Brocklehurst’s, who were more remarkable for their 
money than their grammar. There was the usual 
sprinkling of the professional class, including the 
doctors and the rectors of the country round, and 
the deans, canons, and smaller clergy from Gets- 
minster. The Bishop had promised to come if he 


could. 


Lady Ethersbury had once remarked that garden- 
parties were so convenient — “ One does not mind, 
somehow, meeting that class of person out in the 
air ! ” A speech that had been quoted many times 
by her hearers. 

Gra was always amused by these entertainments, 
the contrasts were so funny. Also the costumes of 
some of the ladies interested her. 

To-day Alice Kellick, daughter of the local duke, 
came in a very simple white muslin frock and a 


278 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


279 


large Leghorn hat, trimmed with pink roses. Mrs. 
Stubbs, wife of a retired milkman, who was the 
tenant of Wane’s House, wore a purple silk trimmed 
with jet, and a hat “ from Paris.” She, when 
invited by her host to have an ice, sat down on the 
terrace steps and spread a handkerchief over her 
purple lap. She nearly upset her ice when Brockle- 
hurst greeted the Cabinet Minister. 

“ How are you, old chap ? ” 

“ Dead tired,” growled the weary statesman. 
“Been spouting all over the place for a fort- 
night.” 

Brocklehurst laughed. 

“The drawback of your position. Never mind. I 
suppose you’re tired of being asked what you think 
of the situation ? ” 

“ On the contrary,” he grinned ; “ people are 
far too anxious to tell me what they think of the 
situation.” 

“ Well, come and have a drink.” Then Brockle- 
hurst winked. “ Allow me to introduce you to 
Mrs. Stubbs, the wife of one of our best-known 
neighbours.” 

Mrs. Stubbs plumped down her half-emptied 
ice-plate, rose awkwardly, and held out her tightly- 
gloved hand. 

“ Proud to meet you, Pm sure,” she murmured. 
Then she added gaspingly : “ And you really hang 
people, sir ! ” 

“ Not with my own hands, Mrs. Stubbs.” 

Mrs. Stubbs giggled. 

“ Lor’ ! You are funny ! I must tell my husband 
that ; he just loves a joke.” 


280 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


She turned to a young man who came up. 

“ ’Ow de do, Mr. Briggs ? ” 

Brocklehurst and the Minister bowed and moved 
away, hearing as they went an ecstatic shriek from 
the silk-clad lady : “ * Not with me own ’ands, Mrs. 
Stubbs/ he says.” 

Brocklehurst stroked his chin. 

“ Forgive me, old man,” he said, smiling ; “ I 
couldn’t resist it. Poor old soul, it will be a 
wonderful memory to her dying day. She’ll tell 
every one of your esprit. Here’s Gra. Gra, I see 
the Bishop over there. Excuse me, I must fly to 
his lordship, or he’s bound to get at loggerheads 
with our high-church rector of Witherint. See 
you later.” 

“Come and see the Aunt Sally,” cried Gra. 
“ Lady Alice, Sir George, the Duke, and the 
Brentons are playing.” 

“ Don’t you think Mrs. Stubbs might come if I 
fetched her ? ” 

“ Oh, not for the world. Aunt Sally is considered 
vulgar by the tenants ; one of them took me to 
task some years ago for permitting it. You’d 
have died. She put it down to my youth, and 
my want of experience of the ways of Society ! 
Oh dear, do you think we’d better go to Cuth? 
I see that Mr. Dawson has joined him and the 
Bishop.” 

“ What will happen ? ” 

“ Oh, it’s like gunpowder and a light. Mr. 
Dawson belongs to the something league, and 
wears a cross on his — er — where the waistcoat 
swells. The Bishop is low. He has already pro- 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


281 


tested against candles on the altar, and there 
has been an acrimonious correspondence between 
them. Yet, when the Bishop is anywhere in sight, 
Mr. Dawson gravitates towards him like a needle 
to a magnet. Oh well, I must leave them to Cuth, 

I can’t be bothered. Come and shy.” 

“ How do you do ? ” said the Bishop stiffly. 
Then he fixed his eyes on the cross suspended 
from Mr. Dawson’s watch-chain. 

Mr. Dawson was a tall thin man, who flattered 
himself that he bore a strong resemblance to 
Cardinal Merry del Val. When he thought that 
the Bishop had gazed long enough at the ornament 
on his person, he turned it over, so that the reverse 
side could be studied. 

The Bishop snorted. Perhaps this is hardly a 
respectful way to refer to the noise his lordship 
made, but the English language is so circum- 
scribed. 

“ I think, sir, that you might keep that emblem 
of ” 

“ Our faith,” interrupted Dawson quietly. “ Yes ? ” 

The Bishop again made the noise referred to 
above. 

“ Yes ? ” repeated the clergyman. 

“ Oh, come,” said Brocklehurst, “ this is not a 
debating platform. My dear Bishop, let us drop 
all little discussions for to-day, and enjoy ourselves. 
Will you come and see Aunt Sally? ” 

“ I’d love to ! ” cried the Bishop. “ That is, 
if— er ” 

“ Oh, there’s no one there but the Duke and a 
few others. The rest think it terribly ill-bred. 


282 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Most of them will play croquet, or listen to the 
singing. Mr. Dawson, will you come ? ” 

“ I think not, thank you. I want to find Mrs. 

Blenkinsop ; she has promised to help me with ” 

he caught the Bishop’s kindling eye, and his host’s 
pleading expression, and ended weakly: “ with — 
er — something.” 

“Oh, dear Mr. Brocklehurst,” piped a high voice, 
“ do tell me where Mrs. Brocklehurst is. Oh, 
Bishop, how de do. Lovely day, isn’t it ? Oh, 
at Aunt Sally ? Do let me come with you. I so 
much want to see your wife for a moment.” 

“ Certainly, Miss Grigson ; come along.” 

Miss Grigson was an institution. She had lived 
in The Red House for many, many years with her 
old mother — her very old mother. No one could 
guess Miss Grigson’s age. Ill-natured people said 
she was sixty. She always dressed in what she 
thought was the height of fashion. In winter 
she wore bright colours and coquettish toques ; 
in summer, light muslins and floppy hats. To- 
day she sported a wrong-coloured mauve muslin, 
very tight round the — the place between the 
knees and ankles. The bodice had transparent 
yoke and sleeves, which revealed her terrible 
thinness. Her hat was of white crinoline straw, 
trimmed with masses of blue hydrangea — the 
wrong blue. She had white shoes and stockings, 
and a parasol covered with painted flowers, pre- 
sumably meant by the artist for roses. Her thin 
mouse-coloured hair was puffed out over a “ pom- 
padour ” pad — which was quite visible, and under 
her hat were pinned masses of roly-poly curls, 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


283 


which had not the faintest pretensions to be a 
match for the main erection. 

She talked mostly in italics, and she talked a 
good deal. Her girlishness, having become chronic, 
was wearisome. She now turned archly to the 
Bishop and held up a white-gloved finger at 
him. 

“ Oh, you naughty man ! ” she cried. “ What 
have you been saying to poor Mr. Dawson ? Oh, 
you can't deny it ! I saw his face.” 

“ My dear Miss Grigson,” began the Bishop. 
“ I really — er — I’m sure you are mistaken. I had 
no conversation whatever with Mr. Dawson.” 

Gra had once invented an adjective to describe 
the manner his lordship now adopted — “ pomp- 
tious.” She said it was a melange of “ bumptious ” 
and “ pompous.” 

“ Don't you think your last letter to him was 
a little — well, just a leetle severe?” continued the 
lady, with her most playful manner. 

“ In my position I have to be severe,” he 
answered slowly. “You forget that my — er — 
that these kinds of matters are placed in my 
hands ; that I have to use my discretion about 
things that may influence the souls of the people 
in my diocese. I consider that Mr. Dawson is 
very indiscreet — very indiscreet.” 

“ But what difference can a candle ” 

Luckily the argument, if argument it could be 
called, was brought to a close by their arrival at 
the ground reserved for the highly intellectual 
game of Aunt Sally. Miss Grigson was so en- 
thusiastic at seeing a splendid shot of the Duke's, 


284 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


that she broke off her sentence to shriek with joy. 
Miss Grigson dearly loved a title. She was not 
low-born herself, her mother having been a Gordon, 
but nothing could cure her of the very palpable 
delight she felt when she could roll a title round 
her tongue. It was a harmless idiosyncrasy, but 
caused great amusement to her acquaintances. 

Doubtless there are “ types ” to be seen in 
London, but the hustle and bustle of a large town 
leaves one no leisure quietly to study their pecu- 
liarities. Certain it is that, for the student of 
eccentricities, there are no places like the provinces 
in which to watch and analyse. 

At this garden-party of the Brocklehursts, 
Dickens could have found a wealth of “ material ” ; 
he could have written half a book of descriptions, 
and, under his magic touch, each individual would 
have lived for the reader. How he would have 
rejoiced in fat Mr. Stubbs, whose passion for ices 
made him seize any excuse for entering the re- 
freshment tent — his politeness in offering to escort 
every lady of his acquaintance was remarkable. 

“You look tired, Mrs. So-and-so,” was his in- 
variable formula. " Let me take you to the tent 
and get you a cup of tea ? ” 

He would place the dame in a chair and rush to 
the buffet, and, while he was waiting for the tea, he 
would bolt an ice. 

Or Mrs. Featherstone, wife of a dean at 
Getsminster, who had been brought up on Jane 
Austen, and whose one idea of refinement was 
languid airs, a smelling-bottle, and a handkerchief 
held in her little fingers by its exact centre. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


285 


Bluff Miss Harborough, of The Hall, would 
have made excellent “ copy.” This lady, winter 
and summer, dressed in a coat and skirt and a 
boat-shaped hat. Her petticoats were short, and 
her boots were “sensible.” She spoke in a tone 
that is usually called “ hearty.” She was of good 
old county family, and knew every one. She was 
the candid friend of the neighbourhood, and was 
meant for a soldier, only a mistake of Nature's 
made her a female. People were a little afraid 
of her tongue ; when she approached, the women 
invariably smoothed their dresses, and the men 
stood bolt upright. 

There were the two Miss Baldwins, whose 
father was a retired admiral. They were of that 
trying age that friends describe as “ about ” thirty, 
and enemies as “ about ” forty. They were still 
called “ girls,” and they loved youths of about 
twenty-five. Their greatest dissipations were tea- 
parties, and sometimes a dinner, or, like the present 
occasion, a garden-party. But they were always 
happy, and thoroughly enjoyed their lives. Their 
favourite word was “ thrilling,” and they applied 
the adjective to the simplest events. They con- 
fided their affairs to every one who would listen. 

When the afternoon was nearly gone, Gra slipped 
her arm through Poppy Baldwin's as she was 
walking alone down a path in the rose-garden. 
She liked these women, and was sorry for them, 
though they would have been the first to repudiate 
any need for pity. 

“ Well, Poppy,” she said kindly, “ how about 
Mr. Hetherington ? Is he coming back ? ” 


286 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Miss Baldwin looked to right and left, and over 
her shoulder, before answering in a whisper : 

“ My dear, I think he will be back soon. I 
feel sure he means something ; it is so thril- 
ling.” 

“ What has he done ? Are you sure he is 
serious ? ” 

“ Yes, I’m sure. Don’t tell any one, Gra, but I 
must tell you my reasons for thinking so. Since 
he went away he has sent me five picture post- 
cards ! ” 

It is impossible to describe the pride Miss 
Baldwin exhibited in speaking this sentence. 

Gra did not laugh, the thing was too pitiful. 
Ever since she had married, and come to Wane’s 
Ferry, she had heard practically the same thing. 
Every young man who appeared on the horizon 
was destined to be the man. That each time he 
“ loved and rode away ” made no difference to 
u the girls ” — they were eternally hopeful, and hope 
kept them young. Though Poppy was all bust 
and hips, and Mary all waist, their faces were 
unwrinkled and their eyes were bright. Sanguinity 
is the true elixir of youth, and he who possesses 
it never grows old. 

“ One was a view of Poet’s Corner in Westminster 
Abbey,” said Poppy, after a pause. (t He is very 
fond of poetry. I gave him a copy of the 
‘Ingoldsby Legends’ before he left. Don’t tell any 
one. He gave me the poetry of a man called 
Henley. I don’t understand it very well, but I’m 
trying to, to please him. There’s one poem in it 
about — oh, I can’t say the word, it’s a Biblical 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


287 


word. I think it a little coarse. Pm sure Bobbie 
did not remember it was in the book, or he wouldn’t 
have given it to me — he was always so refined. 
There is one he marked , my dear, and it begins : 
‘ There was no kiss that day.’ Isn’t that thrilling ? 
I told him when I last wrote that I liked that 
poem.” 

“ Do you write ? ” asked Gra abruptly. 

“ Oh yes ; he asked me to. I tell him all the 
little things that will interest him.” 

“ Do you think it wise to write letters when he 
writes only cards ? ” 

This query was met by a laughing squeak of 
protest. 

(t Why not? He asked me to. He is so busy, 
poor dear, or he would write, I know. Why, on his 
last card he said : ‘ Have you decided on the new 
chintz ? ’ That shows interest, doesn’t it ? I sent 
him a pattern : I hope he’ll understand — I chose 
his favourite flower, lilies of the valley ! I think 
he’ll be pleased. The whole of the chairs are to 
have new covers — they were so shabby.” 

How could Gra preach worldly wisdom and 
calculation to this unworldly, hopeful soul? She 
knew that the Baldwins killed any chance they 
might have over and over again by what is 
vulgarly termed “ flinging themselves at men’s 
heads,” but they would never learn better. Kinder 
to let them go on enjoying themselves and hoping. 

“ Well, I hope it will come to something, Poppy,” 
said Gra quietly, as they turned towards the lawn. 
“ I must go now, and begin saying good-bye. 
People are thinking of going.” 


288 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


One after another the guests left, and soon 
nothing remained to remind Gra of the gathering 
except the empty marquee, the Aunt Sally, the 
balls and mallets on the croquet-lawn, and the 
feeling of intense fatigue the poor hostess has 
after having made herself agreeable to over a 
hundred persons of all tastes and denominations. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


UST after he had dressed for dinner that night 



MacFarlane went down to Grandjean’s rooms. 


^ " Look here, Hippolyte,” he said, flinging 

himself into a chair. “ It does no good madame 
being nervous and wakeful, it will only injure her 
health ; so I have told her that Brocklehurst will 
try nothing to-night. She trusts me absolutely. 
Of course he will, as he couldn’t last night, owing 
to the maid being in madame’s room ; but I have 
the two holes all ready now, and I will get at the 
bottom of the mystery to-night. If the worst 
comes to the worst, we must carry out your sugges- 
tion, and make her room unfit for habitation, then 
she will have to move elsewhere. That will put 
a stop to it effectually. However, I wish to avoid 
that, if possible, as I don’t want any of her 
personal belongings to be injured, and I fail to 
see how we could help it. I shall see to-night 
how he gets into that room, and I can then do 
something to make the secret door useless, I 
think that is best, don’t you ? ” 

“Yes, it certainly would be the most practical 
plan. Shall you be able to see, do you think? 
The moon is at her last quarter now.” 

19 289 


290 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“Oh yes, I can see all right; or you, perhaps, 
had better watch — you seem to be able to see in 
the dark.” 

“Very well, I will do it. You can be there, 
and I can tell you all I see. Well, we shall solve 
the mystery to-night, at last ! I can’t help think- 
ing that, notwithstanding our careful examination 
of the floor, there is a trap-door of some kind there 
which leads into madame’s room. It certainly is 
not a door in the party-wall, or she would have 
seen him enter the other night. Or there may be 
a door in the outside wall in both rooms ; there’s 
space enough in those thick walls for a person 
to slide along if they are hollow.” 

“Yes; I fancy that is the explanation. We 
shall see to-night.” 

MacFarlane, with the Frenchman’s assistance, 
had bored two more holes in between Brockle- 
hurst’s ceiling and the floor of the room above. 
From one or other of these the whole room was 
visible, and they knew that they would see without 
fail the means by which Cuthbert entered his wife’s 
room. 

Gra went to bed quite easy in her mind, for 
MacFarlane had promised her that all would be 
well to-night. She was tired, and she fell asleep 
within five minutes of getting into bed. 

MacFarlane and Hippolyte talked in the latter’s 
room till half-past twelve. Then they adjourned 
to the embrasure of the window in the passage 
by Brocklehurst’s room, and waited till they heard 
him come up to bed. They crept quietly along the 
corridor and up the stairs to the room overhead. 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


291 


“ You’d better watch that hole,” said Hippolyte, 
“ and I’ll watch this. If you see anything, and 
want me, call me over, and I’ll come.” 

They lay down silently with their heads and 
shoulders inside the spaces they had made by 
removing boards. 

The room below was very dim — it was only after 
having watched for some minutes that MacFarlane 
could see objects at all. 

Presently Hippolyte saw Brocklehurst pass 
through the room to the door into the corridor, 
and he could hear distinctly the click of the key 
as it was turned. Then he saw the figure below 
him pause. He stooped and picked up something, 
then he walked across to the dressing-room again, 
unlocked the door, and went in. in a few moments 
he reappeared, locked the door behind him, and 
walked swiftly across the room out of Hippolyte’s 
sight. Just then the room became darker — a cloud 
had passed over the moon. Hippolyte, with his 
extraordinary cats’ sight, could still see, but the 
man he was watching was not in his line of vision. 
He withdrew his shoulders carefully from the cavity, 
and walked over to MacFarlane, and stooped. 

“ Can you see him ? ” he whispered. 

MacFarlane raised himself soundlessly. 

“ Quick ! take my place. Before the room got 
dark I saw him open a cupboard. I can’t see him 
now.” 

Grandjean lay down and peered through the 
hole. Lying even in that uncomfortable position 
he shrugged his shoulders; MacFarlane saw the 
gesture, and wondered what it meant. 


292 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Then Hippolyte’s hand went up and beckoned, 
and MacFarlane crouched down so that his head 
was just above the Frenchman’s. 

“ He took something out of that cupboard,” 
whispered the latter. “ I wish you had been able 
to see what it was. It’s too late now. I saw him 
just as he was going through the window pushing 
something in front of him. I couldn’t see what 
it was, as it was hidden from me by his figure.” 

“ The window ! ” exclaimed MacFarlane. “ Has 
he come back ? ” 

“ Not yet — I’m watching.” 

In silence they waited, but the window below 
them was not darkened by Brocklehurst’s figure. 

“ Can we see the outside of the window from 
any other near here ? ” asked Grandjean at last. 

“ No. The four windows of Brocklehurst’s and 
madame’s rooms take up that square. These, as 
you know, look over the other way. The other 
wing has windows, but it’s locked up, and I don’t 
know where the keys are. I know ! — you watch 
here, and I will run downstairs, and out by the 
terrace door, and round by the shrubbery. I can 
hide in the bushes and see him coming back. Au 
revoir ! ” 

He ran on silent feet down the great staircase 
and passages, and carried out his plan. He had 
some trouble, and wasted over five minutes, with 
the fastenings of the terrace door. Since the 
burglary the locks had been overhauled and some 
changed, and he did not see that hidden beneath 
the massive lock was a small bolt. He tugged 
and tugged, but the door was immovable. He had 


SHADOW-SHAPES 293 

no light, so had to feel. At last his groping fingers 
found the bolt and slid it back. 

When he arrived at the shrubbery he hid himself 
carefully, and gazed up at the windows. There 
was nothing to be seen at first. Then he saw the 
window of Brocklehurst’s room move, and in a 
moment Cuthbert appeared, gazed up at the sky, 
stretched his arms and yawned, then re-entered the 
room. 

“ I was too late ! ” growled MacFarlane to him- 
self. “ Of course he never stays long with her, and 
I remained upstairs for at least ten minutes after 
he’d gone.” 

He made his way back to Hippolyte, who met 
him on the stairs. 

Both asked “ Well ? ” at the same moment. 

“ I was too late,” said the doctor — “ he had gone 
back before I got there. A confounded lock de- 
layed me. What did you see ? ” 

Hippolyte drew his companion to his room before 
he spoke. 

“ He returned about five minutes after you left,” 
he said gravely. “ He came in through the window 
backwards, dragging something after him. I could 
not see what it was. He dragged it over to the 
right, towards the cupboard. The room was very 
dark, and when he opened the cupboard-door it 
hid him from me. Whatever it was, he placed 
it in the cupboard, for when he moved away and 
shut it, there was nothing in his arms.” 

“We must look to-morrow and see what it is,” 
said MacFarlane. “ I don’t understand what it 
can be. What can he want ? If there’s a door 


294 SHADOW-SHAPES 

in the stone outside, surely that is all that is 
necessary.” 

The two men were so anxious to see what was 
in the cupboard that they could hardly contain 
their impatience till Brocklehurst went out with 
Gra after lunch. 

MacFarlane then went to fetch Hippolyte, as 
agreed, and they went quickly to Cuthbert’s room. 

As MacFarlane opened the cupboard he ex- 
claimed : 

“ Why, this is the cupboard containing the 
boards we saw before ! There’s nothing else here.” 

“ That is what he took,” cried Grandjean. “ I 
could see it was something long and whitish, 
and I knew it was heavy by the dragging sound.” 

“ But what on earth ” began MacFarlane; 

then he stopped short and stared at his companion. 
“ Good Lord ! I believe we’ve been on a wrong 
scent, Hippolyte ; there is no secret passage. 
These boards are long enough to go from this 
balcony to the nearer balcony of the next room. 
He crawls across.” 

“ Yes, that must be it.” 

“ But the man must be mad ! Fancy running 
that risk. The wonder is that the night watchman 
has never seen him.” 

“No; he goes his rounds between twelve and 
half-past, and again between half-past two and 
three. I’ve heard him. Where is he the rest of 
the time ? ” 

“ In the little room to the left of the side door we 
opened the night of the burglary.” 

“ There you are ! That is ever so far away from 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


295 


this wing. Besides, monsieur chooses his time — he 
knows that he runs no risk of being seen when he 
makes his journey.” 

“ But, Hippolyte, why does he do it ? Granted 
an overwhelming mania when he thought he might 
die at any moment, why now , when he knows that 
he may live for years ? ” 

“ My opinion is that it arises from a curious 
obstinacy. I believe he was going to discontinue 
the thing when you were in Curzon Street, then 
that night when madame refused to answer him 
put him on his mettle, as it were ; he was furious 
that he had lost his influence, and he determined to 
try to regain it. I think that, very probably, he 
will stop it when we leave.” 

“ Not if she is refusing to answer him now, 
as is very likely, as you are hypnotizing her 
every day.” 

Hippolyte looked uneasy. “ It is not that that 
worries me,” he said. “ If she did not answer at all 
it would be better than giving him the words of my 
commands to her. Then he would know that some 
one was interfering.” 

“Oh dear! — oh dear!” sighed MacFarlane; “it is 
very difficult to know what to do. Anyway, to- 
morrow night I shall take up my position in the 
shrubbery about one — just after he comes upstairs. 
Then we can know for certain if it is as we think. 
I can’t help discrediting the idea of the journey 
across space. There may be some other explanation 
— there may be a passage in the wall, and the 
boards are needed to place along the floor for some 
reason. If I find that he does go by the balconies, 


296 SHADOW-SHAPES 

we must fall back oil the idea of a fire in her 
room.” 

That afternoon MacFarlane was made to feel 
curiously uneasy by a conversation he had with 
Brocklehurst. 

The doctor showed his friend an article in a 
French medical paper, which described a case of 
cured lesions in valvular disease — a case almost 
exactly resembling Brocklehurst’s own. 

He read it aloud, translating the technical terms 
for Cuthbert’s benefit. It ended with the words : 
“ Barring accidents, Monsieur X will live to a good 
old age.” 

“ Sauf accidents” Brocklehurst repeated, smiling 
grimly. 

MacFarlane looked up quickly. 

“ Of course ! If the man is run over, or gets 
smashed up on a railway, he will very likely be 
killed. But his heart won’t kill him.” 

“ No. Mine won’t kill me either.” 

“Just so. Unless you do mad things, there is 
no reason to suppose that your heart will ever 
trouble you again.” 

“ No.” Brocklehurst’s voice was contemplative. 
“ It seems funny to have had all this fuss about 
my heart, and for my death to be caused by 
something else. When the thing began, last year, 
I was certain it was that. You see, I have to die 
before I am forty-five, so I thought ” 

MacFarlane sprang to his feet. 

“ What do you mean ? ” he cried. 

Cuthbert smiled. 

“ Did I never tell you that ? Oh, I’m certain of 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


297 


it. I have gone in a good deal for horoscopes and 
things, you know — well, none continue after forty- 
three, except one, which goes to forty-four. There 
may be an error of a year, sometimes they are not 
exact, but I’ve always felt that forty-five was the 
limit.” 

“ Then you cheated me ! ” ejaculated the doctor. 

Brocklehurst raised his eyebrows. 

“ How ? ” he asked, looking steadily at his 
companion. “ I don’t see it. I was just forty- 
two then, and I thought that I might just as well 
live to — forty-four and three-quarters say. You 
certainly managed to cure me. 1 think I should 
have gone off last year if it had not been for your 
care. I am enjoying my life — I knew I should 
enjoy my life. That is why I wanted you to come 
and save me, if you could. I believe in your skill 
— I always did.” 

“ And you procured my constant attendance by 
a threat, Brock ? ” 

“If you like to put it so — yes. I wished to 
live, and I did my utmost to obtain what I 
considered my best chance. Wouldn’t any man 
do the same ? ” 

“ But I still protest that you cheated me. God 
knows whether I was a fool to believe your threat, 
but somehow you impressed me against my judg- 
ment, against my reason, and I came. But if you 
knew you were going to die — mind, I think it all 
tommy-rot ; I don’t believe in your supernatural 
rubbish, as you know, but you do ; and I repeat, 
that if you thought you were going to die it was 
cheating me to — to ” 


298 SHADOW-SHAPES 

He broke off, got up, and walked to the mantel- 
piece. 

“ I know what you mean,” said Cuthbert softly. 
“You mean Gra. Well, of course that threat — if 
you wish to call it a threat — only held good in the 
event of your failure to cure me of the heart 
trouble — that is, I mean this : if the trouble had 
gone on till I was, say, forty-four, I would have 
released my power. I would not have continued 
it after then, as I should have known that skill 
could do nothing for me, it would not have been 
your fault if I had died — it would have been 
natural. But, as I said before, I wished to live a 
little longer, and I have done so.” 

MacFarlane’s heart was beating most uncom- 
fortably. This was the first time since that never- 
to-be-forgotten day in Curzon Street that the 
subject had been mentioned between them. He 
bit his lips, then turned round. 

“Then,” he said slowly and clearly, “you have 
given up all that idea now you are cured ? ” 

A dark red spread gradually over Brocklehurst’s 
face ; he fidgeted with the leaves of a book on his 
knees and did not look up. 

“ I ” he began, then he rose and walked to the 

window. There was silence for a full minute, then 
he spoke so low that MacFarlane could hardly 
hear him. " When you leave, Mac, you may be 
quite easy in your mind.” 

“ When I leave ! Then you mean that until 
then I must remain in uncertainty? I had better 
go to-morrow, as you mistrust me.” 

“ I do not mistrust you ! ” The man’s voice 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


299 


shook with emotion. “ Oh, Mac, you don’t know 
the temptation. She is more to me than my 
soul.” 

He came across the room, and, as Mac saw 
his face, he noticed it was drawn and haggard. 
Never, all through their long friendship, had 
Brocklehurst shown him the depths of his nature 
as he showed them now. 

“ Imagine the temptation of the power” — the 
words were broken, and his hands shook. 
“ Imagine the possibility of taking the light of 
your life out with you into that vast unknown. 
All the bitterness of death lies in the loneliness , 
Mac ; if one could always go forth hand in hand 
with one’s dearest and nearest, death would indeed 
hold no sting. I was so lonely, Mac — my God! 
so lonely.” 

There is no describing the agony of the man’s 
voice. MacFarlane brushed his hand over his 
eyes, the light seemed growing dim. 

Then Cuthbert’s hand fell on his shoulder, and 
he heard the deep voice speaking again. 

“ When I go out, Mac — next year, I suppose — 
you will take her. Mac, be good to her, or my 
shade will haunt you. We will never speak of 
this again, so 1 will say now that I know all. 
Don’t imagine that I think you have been a cad, 
Mac. I know most men would have not been 
strong enough to do as you have done. It was 
mostly for her sake, I know. But a little for my 
sake too, I think, Mac. 1 like to think that.” 

MacFarlane could not speak, but he held out 
his hand, and the other man grasped it. 


800 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


That night MacFarlane had a note brought to 
him in his room. The envelope was addressed 
in Brocklehurst’s peculiarly beautiful handwriting. 
He tore it open, and read these words : 

“ From Sunday she will be free for ever from 
the power.” 

What did it mean? To-day was Friday. Then 
Brocklehurst must mean to try the experiment 
once more. To-morrow night ? Perhaps he was 
going to try and undo the evil — that must be 
it. Well, he would watch from the shrubbery, just 
to satisfy himself as to the means by which access 
to Gra’s room had been obtained. 

Thank God the thing was ending. Thank God 
for that conversation with his friend. Brock had 
been quite right — how could any one judge who 
knew not the temptation? He fell asleep with 
Cuthbert’s words ringing in his ears : 

“ All the bitterness of death lies in the loneliness , 
Mac ; if one could always go forth hand in hand 
with one’s dearest and nearest, death would indeed 
hold no sting.” 


CHAPTER XXVII 


I T was a hot, still night Not a leaf stirred. 

The moon, an uncertain crescent, lay low — 
shortly she would sink behind the trees in the 
park ; but the night was not dark, for myriads of 
stars were shining in “ that inverted Bowl they call 
the Sky ” — shining so brightly that they appeared 
to be quite near, so near that it seemed it would be 
easy to build some high tower whence man could 
stretch his greedy hand and pluck the gleaming 
jewels for himself. It was a magic night, a night 
to see the fairies and the gnomes playing in and 
out the ferns and grasses, and to hear the flowers 
talking ; a night to hold one’s breath and watch 
for some wonderful thing to happen, and be not 
in the least astonished at the miracle. 

MacFarlane sat on a bench in the shade of 
the dense shrubbery and listened to the silence. 
Like many men of mixed Scottish and Irish blood 
he had a deep poetical side to his nature, and 
a night like this stirred in him all kinds of 
wonderful fancies. 

A bird gave a sleepy twitter, and he smiled 
as he imagined the cause — a fairy had touched the 
tiny fluffed body with his wand, or a mischievous 
301 


302 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


gnome had plucked the little brown tail. There 
was the sound of a swift skurry through the under- 
growth — a mouse had been called to an important 
council of his kind : he imagined him speeding 
along, muttering, like Alice’s rabbit, “ Oh, my ears 
and whiskers, how late it’s getting ! ” A little tree 
began shaking and whispering when all the others 
were still — was it not because a swarm of little 
figures was climbing and playing in the boughs ? 

Just then his ears, trained by the night to hear 
the sounds of the night, caught another noise, and 
he looked up. Brocklehurst stood on his nearer 
balcony and looked up at the stars. Then he 
stretched his arms over his head. The light 
touched his dark, handsome face to a strange, 
mysterious beauty. He remained quite still for a 
few moments, then his arms dropped to his sides. 
He turned and caught hold of a board which he 
had placed leaning against the side of the house. 
Very slowly, making no sound, he pushed it across 
till one end was supported on the stone balustrade 
of the balcony which lay the nearer to him of the 
two belonging to Gra’s room. Then a second 
board was placed alongside the first. He felt them 
with his hands to see that they were firm, then he 
paused a moment, and again looked up at the stars. 

“ So Hippolyte was right,” thought MacFarlane. 
“ How extraordinary that he should have done 
this uncomfortable journey so often for a mad idea 
— yet was it mad ? ” 

He again thought of Brocklehurst’s words about 
the loneliness of death, and he sighed. 

Anyway, this was the last time; he knew that he 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


303 


could trust his friend now. He was watching the 
last journey, and it was to be for the removal of 
the influence. The mystery of the night made him 
feel as if he were watching the strange rites of 
some olden age — the removal of a curse. He felt 
there ought to be vague coloured lights and 
incense, mutterings of distant thunder, cabalistic 
signs. It was too commonplace — a tall man in 
blue silk pyjamas standing on a stone balcony, his 
only instruments two thick boards, rough and 
splashed with whitewash. 

Then the figure stirred. 

Brocklehurst caught hold of a projection in the 
wall with his hand, placed his foot between the 
pillars of the stonework and mounted till he stood 
on the perilous bridge, facing his destination. 
With his right hand on the wall, his left arm held 
out from his side, he began to move ; slowly, mak- 
ing no noise, he placed one foot before the other. 

Then MacFarlane saw something else, and, as he 
saw, his heart gave one terrible leap, then stood still. 

The light curtains of Gra’s window moved. 

The figure on the boards went on. The curtains 
moved again, wide apart, and Gra stood between 
them in her nightgown. 

MacFarlane stood up and waved her back, but 
she was looking up at the sky, and did not see him. 
He did not dare call. 

There was no time to think what to do, for, even 
as he thought, Gra stepped out on the balcony and 
looked straight at her husband. 

“ Cuth ! ” 

MacFarlane heard the loud exclamation, and, 


304 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


merging into it a horrible cry as the figure on the 
boards started violently, turned to retreat, swayed, 
and fell headlong to the stones twenty feet below. 
As he sprang from his retreat MacFarlane called 
for help — called loudly again and again. Then, 
even as he ran, he looked up and saw a white heap 
lying on the floor of Gra’s balcony. 

Jones, the watchman, came running round the 
corner of the house. 

“ Quick ! help me, Jones.” 

“ Oh, what is it, sir ? Why, it’s the master ! ” 

“ Yes, he was walking in his sleep, and fell from 
the balcony.” 

He gave the explanation automatically as he lifted 
the head of his friend and bent his ear to the heart. 

“ He is not dead. Can you manage to help me 
carry him ? ” 

“ Yes, sir. Which door, sir? ” 

“ The terrace — quick ! You take his feet.” 

Tenderly they carried their burden into the 
house. Jones turned up the lights as they went, 
loosing one hand for the purpose. 

“ Where to, sir?” 

“ Upstairs. All my things are upstairs.” 

In the hall they were met by Hippolyte, white 
and shaking. 

“ I was watching in the room above,” he said. 
“ I heard the cry.” 

He, of course, spoke in French, and MacFarlane 
answered as he moved along. He was rather 
breathless, for Brocklehurst was a heavy man. 

“ Go to madame’s room. Break open the door 
somehow, anyhow, only do it. She is in a faint 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


305 


or something, on the balcony. Hurry! Turn up 
all the lights as you go, and in the dressing-room ; 

I shall put him on the couch there, as we can’t get 
into his room.” 

Hippolyte’s little feet in the brilliant woolwork 
slippers fled up the stairs. 

With difficulty, going very slowly, the two men 
bore Brocklehurst up the stairs, along the corridor, 
and laid him on the sofa in the dressing-room. 

“ Go and call Lightfoot ! ” cried the doctor ; and, 
as he began to strip off the jacket of the pyjamas, 
Jones ran from the room. 

“ Arm broken — that’s nothing,” muttered Mac- 
Farlane, feeling with his long, sensitive fingers along 
the flesh. 

The ribs were all well, and the clavicles. There 
was a red mark, rapidly turning blue, on the fore- 
head. He felt gently over the head. No, there 
was nothing broken there. Then he turned his 
friend over on his face very gently, and his fingers 
began to press slowly downwards. 

Then he stopped, and his face turned grey. 

“ My God ! — oh my God ! ” 

Just then he heard a loud crash, followed by 
another. Hippolyte had broken in the panel of 
Gra’s door. 

MacFarlane turned the unconscious figure over, 
and laid it very straight on its back, with a small 
cushion under the head. Then he covered the 
naked body with the couvre-pieds . 

Lightfoot appeared, white -faced, and half-clothed, 
followed by Rivers, the old butler. 

“ Is he badly hurt, sir? ” 

20 


306 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


MacFarlane bowed his head. Then he looked at 
the two grief-stricken faces, and his mouth trembled. 

“ I can do nothing,” he said very quietly. “ His 
back is broken.” 

Rivers leant his head against the door and sobbed. 

“ Lightfoot, you’ve been up to my room, haven’t 
you ? ” 

“ Yes, sir — once.” 

“ Go there now. There’s a medicine-cupboard 
behind the door. Here is the key. Open it, and 
bring me the little bright box you will see on the 
small shelf — you’ve seen it before — my hypodermic 
syringe. Also a bottle standing by its side, with 
an orange label on it. Be quick ! ” 

Lightfoot left the room as Hippolyte entered. 

“ She is unconscious,” cried the Frenchman. 
“ It’s not a faint. I’ve hypnotized her. I’ve got 
her on to the bed somehow. What shall we do ? 
Is he badly hurt ? ” 

The short staccato sentences cut the silence like 
a knife. MacFarlane groaned. 

“ His back is broken. He can’t last long.” 

“ Mon Dieu ! Then she may ” 

He left the word unsaid, and gazed piteously at 
MacFarlane, who rose to his feet. 

“ Rivers, I’m going to Mrs. Brocklehurst, who 
has fainted. Call me at once if the master moves.” 

Rivers, tears streaming down his old face, nodded, 
and the two men left the room. 

Gra’s room was brilliantly lighted. She was lying 
on the bed, her eyes shut, her face very white. 

MacFarlane bent and listened to her heart. His 
face lay on her breast, visible beneath the thin 


SHADOW-SHAPES 307 

nightgown, and, as he listened, he shut his lips 
into a thin line. 

“ Is she in the hypnotic state now ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Then try and wake her.” 

Hippolyte’s hands went out and made rapid 
passes. 

The little man no longer looked ridiculous, for 
the absurdity of the figure was redeemed by the 
wonderful concentration of his face. A lock of 
his long hair fell, damp and straggling, over his 
forehead, he pushed it back impatiently, and went 
on with the passes. 

Gra did not move. Not an eyelash flickered, the 
lips remained slightly open — they were faintly blue. 

“ Send her off again, and will and will and 
will. Hippolyte, save her ! ” 

His voice rose in a cry of despair. 

The little man nodded, and bent over Gra. 

“ We might try some brandy first.” 

MacFarlane ran from the room, and returned 
in a minute with a flask. He forced the teeth 
open with a silver nail-file from the dressing-table, 
and dropped the raw spirit a little at a time into 
her mouth. He stroked the throat and pressed 
it at the side, but no swallow followed, and the 
brandy ran out on to the pillow. 

il No good ! ” he exclaimed. “ Try hypnotism. 
If she moves, pour some brandy down. I must go. 
My God ! I must leave her.” 

Hippolyte pressed his arm. 

“ I will work as I have never worked before,” he 
said in a low solemn voice. 


308 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


MacFarlane bent and kissed one white hand 
lying on the sheet — then, with lifeless steps, he went 
away. 

As he entered the dressing-room Brocklehurst 
moved his hand. 

Then he opened his eyes and looked at his 
friend — a long steady look, as if he were thinking. 

Suddenly the eyes fluttered, and a frown came 
on his forehead. 

“ Are you in pain, Brock ? ” asked MacFarlane 
very gently. 

“ No.” 

There was silence for a few moments, then he 
said quietly : 

“ I suppose I’m done for ? ” 

MacFarlane did not answer, and Brocklehurst 
looked at him. 

“I see,” he said quietly. “What is it?— the 
back ? ” 

MacFarlane nodded. Then Rivers sobbed, and 
Brocklehurst turned his eyes and saw him and 
Lightfoot. 

“ Poor old Rivers!” he said in the same low voice. 

Rivers came forward, his wrinkled face working 
with emotion. Brocklehurst tried to move the 
hand nearest him, but could not. 

“ I see my arm is broken,” he remarked. “ Well, 
that doesn’t matter, I shan’t need it. Take my 
other hand, Rivers. That’s right. God bless you, 
you’ve given me and mine a long, faithful service.” 

Rivers bent his grey head and kissed his master’s 
hand, and the tears fell on it. 

“You too, Lightfoot,” the master said kindly; 


SHADOW-SHAPES 309 

and the valet, stiff and outwardly unmoved, knelt 
and followed Rivers’s example. 

“ Mac, where’s Gra ? ” Loudly and suddenly the 
words rang out, and Cuthbert’s eyes distended as 
he asked the question. 

“ She is in her room. Hippolyte is with her.” 

“ Why doesn’t she come ? ” 

“ Don’t worry, old chap — she has fainted. She 
will come when she gets better.” 

If it was possible for the dying man’s face to get 
whiter, it did so now. 

“ Send Rivers and Lightfoot away — I must speak 
to you.” 

The two servants joined their frightened, cower- 
ing fellows in the upper hall at the end of the 
corridor. 

“ Shut the door, Mac.” 

He obeyed, and returned to the sofa. 

“ Mac, you saw it all, I suppose ? ” 

MacFarlane nodded. 

“Mac” — he moved his hand restlessly, and Mac 
took it — “ Mac, I was going for the last time, to 
undo what I had done.” 

“ I know, Brock — I know, old chap ; don’t worry.” 

u I see now how horrible, how ” he broke off 

and began again. “ It was selfish. She has been 
so good to me. And, after all, I have Wee Willie 
Winkle.” 

This was the first time Brocklehurst had ever 
mentioned his child since the tragic death. 

“ Mac, I am afraid. Why does she not come ? ” 

“ She fainted as you fell. She has not come to 
yet.” 


310 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


“ Are you sure it is only a faint ? ” 

He looked searchingly at his friend’s face, and 
something he saw there sent a convulsion through his 
whole length. It looked as if he were trying to rise. 

“ Mac,”— his voice was loud and strong again — 
“ go and fetch her here.” 

Mac hesitated. 

“ Do as I tell you. Carry her here, and put her 
in that arm-chair close by my right side.” 

It was a command to be obeyed, and MacFarlane 
left the room. 

He found Hippolyte, his face literally streaming, 
bending over the still figure on the bed. 

“ Bring her to — quick ! I have to carry her to 
him.” 

Hippolyte looked up dazed, but he obeyed 
mechanically. There was no difference to be seen 
in the woman — she was nearly as one dead. 

MacFarlane stooped and gathered her into his 
arms. He drew the sheet round her, and carried 
her away. Hippolyte followed in a dream : he 
might be wanted. 

Brocklehurst’s eyes were flaming as his wife was 
propped up in the chair by his side. The only 
life in that wrenched body seemed to lie in those 
distended eyes as they gazed at her. 

“ Push her nearer,” he whispered. 

Then he lifted his right arm — the left was lying 
helpless by his side. 

“ Don’t exert yourself, Brock ! ” cried the doctor 
anxiously. 

“ I must ! What does it matter — a few minutes 
or hours more or less ? ” 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


Sll 


He stared at the unconscious figure in the chair, 
and began the old passes with his one hand. 

He muttered and muttered, and MacFarlane 
heard a word here and there. 

Then louder came the words : 

" What are the commands you have received ? 
Answer.” 

Silence. 

“ O God, if there were only some one to help 
me ! ” he cried. 

A little figure, in a dressing-gown, showing thin 
legs beneath, with feet clad in brilliant woolwork 
slippers, entered the room. 

“ I can help you, monsieur ! ” 

“ You ! ” 

“ Yes, I. I am a hypnotist.” 

It was no time to wonder, Brocklehurst accepted 
the fact without further argument. 

“Join your will to mine. Tell her she is to live 
— to live — to live ! Do you understand ? ” 

“ Yes.” He came forward, and bent over Gra. 

MacFarlane too leant nearer, staring at the 
beloved face. 

He willed with the whole of him — brain and 
heart and soul joined in that fight. 

After a silence : “ What are the orders you have 
received ? ” said Cuthbert. 

The bluish lips parted. 

“ I — I am to ” 

Again silence closed round. 

Then a miracle happened. 

A convulsion again passed over Cuthbert’s body, 
and, before any one could stop him, he rose from 


312 


SHADOW-SHAPES 


the couch and stood upright. He stretched his 
arm out till the fingers touched his wife’s face, and 
he cried aloud : 

“ You are to live ! ” 

The veins swelled in his forehead, the blood 
rushed to his cheeks ; he looked as well as he had 
ever been. 

“ You are to live ! ” 

“ I am to live,” said a small, sweet voice. 

“ Now, come back ! Come back, and live ! ” 

His hand moved strongly in the contrary passes. 

Gra sighed and moved. 

“ Come back ! ” 4 

As the last words rang through the room, and 
the colour came to the woman’s cheeks and lips, 
she opened her eyes. 

“ Cuth ! ” she cried, and stood up quickly, 
stretching out her arms. 

“ Gra ! Gra ! ” 

He made one step towards her, then fell at her 
feet. 

He was dead. 


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“The spirit of Spain has been caught to a very great degree by the 
author of this book, and held fast between its covers. ** 

— Book News. 


NETTA SYRETT 

Olivia L. Carew cloth. i2mo. $1.50 

An interesting character study of a passionless, self-absorbed woman 
humanized by the influence of a man’s love and loyal devotion. 

Anne Page. A Love-story of To-day Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 

“Readers must judge for themselves. Women may read it for 
warning as well as entertainment, and they will find both. Men 
may read it for reproach that any of their kind can treat such women 
so. And moralists of either sex will find instructions for their 
homilies, as well as a warning that there may be more than one 
straight and narrow way.” — New York Times. 

Six Fairy Plays for Children 

Sq. 12mo. $1.00 net. Postage 8 cents. 


A. NEIL LYONS 


ROBERT BLATCHFORD 

Cloth. 12mo. 75 cents net. Postage 10 cts . 

The Sketch of a Personality. 

An Estimate of Some Achievement. 

“A splendid figure for biographical study. ” — The Call. 

Cottage Pie Cloth. 12mo. $1.50. 

A Country Spread. A Novel. 

Sixpenny Pieces cloth. i2mo. si. so. 

The Story of a Sixpenny Doctor 

“Not since famous 6 No. 5 John Street ’ has been offered so tell- 
ing and characteristic a work. Power to stir human hearts and 
sway human sympathies. Holds the interest with a grip of iron and 
will make many think.” — Chicago Record Herald. 

“Unique in style and matter and intense in human interest.” — 
Louisville Courier Journal. 

“Notable, pathetic, humorous and tragic. In realistic force and 
convincing truth of characterization it is a striking achievement. 
Slum life has never been better portrayed.” — Brooklyn Eagle. 

Arthur’s Hotel cloth. l2mo. $1.50. 

“ Sketches of low life in London. The book will delight visitors 
to the slums.” — New York Sun . 


M. P. WILLCOCKS 


The Way Up 


Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 


The Romance of an Ironmaster Touching Three Vital Questions 

(a) Capital and Labor. 

(b) The Claims of the Individual Against Those of the State. 

( c ) The Right of a Woman to Her Own Individuality. 

“M. P. Willcocks is an English writer of unusual force and that 
dry, incisive humor dearly beloved of the intellectual reader. In 
‘The Way Up’ this writer crystallizes a tense and telling problem. 
The book is earnest enough for the most serious of readers, yet 
never dull or dreary. The humanization is admirable.” — Chicago 
Record-Herald. 

“ Miss Willcocks shows the wit of Barrie in close alliance with the 
bold realism of Thomas Hardy and the philosophic touches of 
George Meredith. ” — Literary World , London. 

“Striking studies of character and grace of charm and style.” — 
New York Sun . 

“Such books are worth keeping on the shelves, even by the classics, 
for they are painted in colors which do not fade.” — Lotidon Times . 


The Wingless Victory 


Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 


“A most remarkable novel which places the author in the first rank. 
This is a novel built to last.” — The Outlook. 

“ A book worth keeping on the shelves, even by the classics, for 
it is painted in colors which do not fade.” — The Times. 

“It is an excellent thing for any reader to come across this book.” 
— Standard. 

“A splendid book.” — Tribune. 


A Man of Genius 


Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 


“Far above the general level of contemporary fiction. A work of 
unusual power.” — Professor William Lyon Phelps . 


Widdicombe 


Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 


A Romance of the Devonshire Moors 


MAUDE ANNESLEY 


The Wine of Life Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 

“The story is well worth reading; it is never dull and 
is positively superior in the distinctness of its character 
portraiture to the common run of drawing-room fiction/ ’ 
— Charleston News and Courier 


The Door of Darkness Cloth , 12mo , $1.50 

“ A story of great interest/’ — Newark Evening News. 
“Thoroughly absorbing. ... A subtle psychological 
situation.” — Providence Journal. 


Wind Along the Waste Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 

“There are some capitally drawn pictures of Parisian 
low life and its types, and a few thrilling adventures. 
The whole conception is so forcible that one can hardly 
get on fast enough.” — Pall Mall Gazette. 


Shadow-Shapes Cloth, 12mo, $1.30 net. Postage 12 cents 

* * The theme of the story is that of hypnotic suggestion. 
. . . The absorbing drama grows in interest with every 
page, the sense of impending tragedy is always with us. 
It is well and cleverly done.” — Pall Mall Gazette. 


MY ENEMY— THE MOTOR 


BY 

JULIAN STREET 


Illustrated, Cloth . 16mo. 50 cents net. Postage 6 cents . 


c ‘ Will supply all normal readers, motor enthusiasts or 
otherwise, with cause for chuckling during a good half-hour.” 

— Chicago Record-Herald. 

6 ( Mr. Street’ s style is lively and vivacious. ’ ’ 

— Boston Transcript. 

“In the manner of Jerome K. Jerome and may be 
heartily commended.” — New York Globe. 

“The humor of Julian Street first became known by 
the publication of the clever little story * My Enemy — the 
Motor.’ ” — The Boston Herald. 

“More acceptable than the ordinary run of novels 
because it is more amusing, less pretentious and not so long. 
About as long as the ordinary novel might be if only novelists 
would omit superfluities. Just the right length.” 

— N. Y. Evening Sun . 


THE NEED OF CHANGE 


BY 

JULIAN STREET 

Illustrated. Cloth . 16mo. 50 cents net. Postage 6 cents . 

<C A sketch too good to miss. Deliciously humorous.” 

— Baltimore Sun. 

“Delightful. Jovial and joyous as a fat man’s hearty 
laugh.” — Chicago Record-Herald. 

‘ ‘ A brilliant story, sympathetically illustrated. ’ ’ 

— New York American. 

“Fortify yourself when you start the story. If you 
don’t, you may disturb the passengers by laughing right out 
loud.” — San Francisco Bulletin. 

Many laughs between the covers. The story is told 
with spirit and a constant sense of humor.” 

— New York Saturday Review of Books . 

“Now and again you have the extreme luck to run 
across a book that is really FUNNY. Not the machine- 
made, madly-advertised type. ‘The Need of Change’ is 
the kind that usually you pick up by accident, start to run 
through casually, find yourself .startled into a chuckle by some 
unexpected humorous line, and end by reading every word 
with zest and hustling around to loan it to your friends. . . 
Keeps the reader in one continuous howl; the fun never 
becomes forced. A gem ! ’ ’ — Philadelphia Item . 


THE HICKORY LIMB 

BY 

PARKER H. FILLMORE 

Illustrated, Cloth, 16mo, SO cents net. Postage 6 cents, 

“ ‘The Hickory Limb’ is a. remarkable story, which I 
have enjoyed, appreciated, and admired. It displays a 
knowledge of human nature, tenderness and humor.’ * 

— Charles Battell Loomis, 

“A true and amusing picture of child life.” 

— Louisville Courier-Journal. 

‘ 4 The little heroine and all the children are capital. ’ ’ 

— New York Sun. 

“A charming companion to popular ‘Alice in Wonder- 
land.’ ” — Chicago Record-Herald. 

“ One of the most relishable pieces of humor evolved 
in some time.” — Albany Argus. 

“We do not recall having seen any more striking 
evidence of the arrival of an age of social experimentation 
than little Margery’s rebellion.” — Chicago Evening Post. 

“A dainty idyl, full of charm. Should prove a classic.” 

— Cincinnati Enquirer. 

“Powerful in its subtle analysis of childhood philosophy.” 

— Rochester Union and Advertiser. 

‘ 4 A most delightful story .... Let Mr. Fillmore go 
on writing other stories like 4 The Hickory Limb.’ ” 

— Toronto News. 

“An hour of amusement, a series of laughs from the 
heart out, and a pleasant vista backward to the days of child- 
hood will come to the reader of ‘The Hickory Limb.’ ” 

— Cincinnati Tribune. 



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